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Presentasjon
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It is all about identity, my own and my works' - not identical, but in a relationship. Something in me works with ideas and goals openly and and structured on the surface, others evolve in the hidden with themes and visions of its own. All this is connected in an invisible stucture. It is about maturing time after an inpression - unpredictable both in time perspective, and how this influence and change me and my work. I have to liberate sensitivity and frankness in the processes, and confidence in the choices I make, because under the surface something in me knows all that is to know. In this I gather the anticipation and the exitement, but also the faith I need. These prosesses live their own life. I can't miss anything or consciously avoid anything. Because of this complexity, the choises at an absolute level are allready made. I only need sensitivity, frakness and confidence. In the open processes lie ideas, themes about the visible and the invisible, the underlying, dualities, the multisided and the paradoxical. Geometry and minimalism are often framework conditions. In the hidden processes, impressions from colours and forms in nature are often of great importance, as well as seasons and weather. Still I am aware there are other more hidden dimensions that strongly influence the development of my artwork. Those are of such a character that they can’t be consciously grasped or verbal described. * The exploration of the material I have worked with for some years now has strongly developed the visual aspects of my artwork. It started at the Art School in Kabelvåg, Lofoten, where I filled in for another teacher. As the students practically were finished with their exercises, it was not very much for me to do, so I started to fold a large piece of paper – like an accordion, both directions - to squares. I discovered that I this way could shape the most amazing 3 dimensional forms by bending, stretching, pushing and forming the paper. I brought the paper home and kept it on a shelf for some years. Later on I wanted to explore in which way I could use it. Paper is not strong enough and fabrics are too soft. I started to stiffen canvas with starch and different glues and ended up with wallpaper glue, which I thinned a lot with water. Quickly I worked out that I had to laminate (glue together) two layers of fabric to get a material that I could use for the folding. The first couple of years I used the material as it was – a non-bleached cotton fabric – but started then to dye the fabric before I laminated it. To get as many as possible combinations of the different colours, I laminated fabrics of different tones or nuances together. After I started working on creating structures with the material – cut into strips – I realized that twisting the strips would make both sides of the laminated material visible and give more possibilities in the colour compositions. Today I am still developing this, with a feeling of the great potential of this work. All the time I discover new interesting and exciting possibilities to explore. * The longing for the ulitamate expression - maybe a wish for the impossible - opens endless possibilities. In this infinity there are some possibilities more attractive then others, that lead me like a red thread further in my work. As such, there is no real beginning or end, bur areas I angle my self into and explore, with constantly new goals in sight.
Elsfjord 19.06.2010 Ingela Birkeland
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