Northern Tales
Vilma Bader6 - 23 February 2019
Opening Night Tuesday 5 February 2019, 5-8PM
Using three locations, Northern Tales explores the mnemonic function of linguistics, semiotics and space in the construction of identity. The work emerges out of two years of travels and artist residences in Iceland, Finland and Estonia. All three locations, while indisputably European, are peripheral within the European imagination. Contemplative immersion and engagement within these locales’ communities and experiencing the landscape in all seasons was important. The approach differs and culminates in a compelling, kaleidoscopic world where fact, fiction, myth, history, the old and new merge and play off each other. The hand-made appliqués in the Icelandic component refer to the country’s medieval sagas, and stories and events from its not so distant past. The extensive use of textile and hand stitching evoke long dark northern winter nights and storytelling. The Finnish component functions as a collection of visual poems and as a comment on the unsustainable timber industry in Finland. The Estonian component brings forth the strikingly colourful doors of its capital city. Northern Tales is foremost about the local and particular, while suggesting multiple narratives which link universal histories and the common memories they may share.
Image: Vilma Bader, Women in the Age of Settlement 2018, 62 x 210, acrylic, canvas, hessian, hand stitched and painted appliqués, textile, cotton thread
Images courtesy of the artist and Kudos Gallery. Photos: Liam Black
Northern Tales Room Sheet (opens in new window)
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