Outdoor – Indoor/São Paulo Biennial
Oct 12 – Dec 11, 1994
22nd International São Paulo Biennale, Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil
The outdoor-indoor installation at the Biennale is part of Inghild Karlsen’s long-term artistic project, related to Arctic culture. Exploring concepts such as nomadism, hunting, ecology, endangerment, and survival is essential to this project. The project is closely linked to the research field, such as the work of marine biologists, folklorists, and others. Therefore, it’s far removed from romanticising the midnight sun and Northern Lights.
Inghild has chosen materials and themes connected to the culture of this part of the country where she comes from. To illustrate, it’s a culture without a history of art in a traditional context, but with a rich cultural history.
Early on, the artist chose felt as her preferred material. In arctic regions, felt serves as protection against the cold, and nomadic tribes have utilised it for practically everything.
This choice of material is related to Inghild Karlsen’s view of art.
She works spontaneously and directly, with her roots in conceptual and process art. While the works appear in series and thematic groups, her projects also maintain a nomadic character through various indoor and outdoor performances.
Inghild Karlsen achieved her artistic breakthrough in 1979 with a monumental felt installation titled Scarecrows.
The work consisted of eighteen ragged, witchlike figures crafted from earth colored felt. Mounted on a small island, the figures slowly disintegrated under the harsh wind and weather. Ultimately, these haunting scarecrows served as a warning in the form of protection.
The work centres on Arctic landscapes and traditions. Inghild utilised a large drying rack for stockfish; as a result, the symmetrical structure evokes associations with both the computer age and grid patterns. By creating her own “places” in the borderline area between outdoor and indoor, she works with problematic concepts associated with marginal areas that are neither urban nor rural.
Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen, Inghild Karlsen
