SHE'LL SHOW

SQUEEZE

 

Ragnhild Aamås

Sandra Vaka

Jessica Warboys

KARMAKLUBB

 

Collaboration with Karmaklubb,

interviews with She Will and the artist in the show SQUEEZE available here!

OPENING 05/09 2020

2-5 PM

 

Openinghours:

Wed -fri 11-2 PM

Sat-sun 12-4 PM

 

Last day of show 20/09 2020

Scroll down for documentation images and Bios.

 

 

 

SQUEEZE

Cats miraculous ability to fit its body into various narrow containers is the subject of The Liquid Cat meme. Marc-Antoine Fardin took this seriously and researched whether cats can be called 'liquid'. In his article "Are Cats liquid?" (2017) he writes:

 

"At the centre of the definition of a liquid is an action: A material must be able to modify its form to fit within a container," "If we take cats as our example, the fact is that they can adapt their shape to their container if we give them enough time. Cats are thus liquid if we give them the time to become liquid. "….

 

Most artists survive by working alongside their artistic practice and thus end up with two professions. This double role can be experienced as a constant squeeze to make ends meet and have enough time to make art. If you add the role of parent or caregiver, on top of that, the pressure increase.  The ongoing corona situation amplified this with home office and home-school, and the situation becomes no less challenging to juggle for the individual (artist).

 

In this exhibition, our starting point was the image of the adaptable cat and we have worked with the concept of squeeze as a metaphor for workflow, possibilities, and obstacles. The works in the exhibition relate to this in an abstract and material way - either in relation to the creation, materiality, content of the works or as a definition of the artist's role.

We have invited three artists with different practices and points of view, but who all possess a material sensibility that works together. They all have produced new works for this exhibition. In addition, we have selected some older works.

 

Jessica Warboys works with many different techniques where the materials are influenced by amongst other things, the forces and elements of nature. In her “Sea paintings” the sea, sand and wind all contribute in distributing mineral pigments to colour raw canvas. In the work "Snake Painting, Pink" included in this show, the materiality of painted beeswax gives resistance to applied strokes and reveals the raw un-stretched canvas beneath.

 

Sandra Vaka works with a combination of photographs and sculpture. Through a conceptual approach, she challenges the structure and technology of photography and the body's relationship to the process. Her sculptures relate to everyday objects and are often partially preformative in the way they relate to nature and the body. In her practice, she questions how we relate to climate change, consumption and technological innovations, and our relations with bodily and sensory experiences.

 

Ragnhild Aamås works with collages, sculptures, and text. Included in the exhibition is work made of a relief mat, like those used in professions where the body has to adapt to a standing position over long stretches to perform a job. Ragnhild writes:

"In the more precarious labour situations – low down on the economic ladder, and not infrequently occupied by part-time workers and "women-dominated"- the urge to individualize stress phenomena is common and often tend towards superstitions and the wellness industry. Such as temporary aid like relief mats needed to alleviate too many hours spent standing, on without breaks, or connections to "mindfulness" and other stress relief methods that focus on the individuals ability to self-help. "

 

LINK TO RAGNHILD AAMÅS SOUND PIECE.

 

 

 

 

 

Installation view

Installation view

Ragnhild Aamås

The Grind: five times Merak and Dubhe , 2020, Beige support mat with hole and four-headed figure. 90cm x 140cm x 20cm

 

 

Installation view. Sandra Vaka In front: Suck, 2019, 2 x Terrycloth, machine embroidery, 10 cm x 513 cm, 10 cm x 604 cm.

On the wall: Days, 2020, 3 x Archival pigment print , Epson Premium Luster paper, aluminium, Ed of 2, 1 Ap., 110cm x 163 cm

 

Installation view

Jessica Warboys, Snake Painting, Pink, 2019, Beeswax, acrylic, canvas, stainless steel rivets, 250  x 185cm

Ragnhild Aamås, The Grind: enclosure, 2020, Neoprene mat, digital collage print, wood figure,slit, 90cm x 140cm x 20 cm approx

 

Installation view

Jessica Warboys, Mask (Panther), 2020, Antique glass, lead, 28 x 41x 0.5 cm

Ragnhild Aamås, The Grind: eve with comfort , 2020, Neoprene mat, digital collage print, wood figure, candle, 90cm x 140cm x 20 cm approx

Sandra Vaka, Days, 2020, Archival pigment print, Epson Premium Luster paper, aluminium Ed of 2, 1 Ap. 110cm x 163 cm

 

Sandra Vaka, Days, 2020, Archival pigment print, Epson Premium Luster paper, aluminium Ed of 2, 1 Ap. 110cm x 163 cm

 

Sandra Vaka, Days, 2020, Archival pigment print, Epson Premium Luster paper, aluminium Ed of 2, 1 Ap. 110cm x 163 cm

 

Close up. Sandra Vaka, Days, 2020, Archival pigment print, Epson Premium Luster paper, aluminium Ed of 2, 1 Ap. 110cm x 163 cm

 

Installation view

Ragnhild Aamås, The Grind: exchanger, 2020, Neoprene mat, digital collage print, wood figure, candle, 90cm x 140cm x 20 cm approx

 Bios:

JESSICA WARBOYS (1977 Wales, UK) is currently based in Berlin and Stavanger.

Exhibitions include: 2020202 Gaudel de Stampa, Paris (2020) Hill of Dreams Tate St Ives, Cornwall, UK (2017) Topo Scenic Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway (2016) Angle Pose Kunstverein, Amsterdam (2016) British Art Show 8 (2016) Superior Props 1857 Oslo (2015)  Ab Ovo Spike Island, Bristol, UK (2013) 9ª Bienal do Mercosul Porto Alegre, Brazil (2013) Artists Film International Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (2012) dOCUMENTA 13 Kassel, Germany (2012) Land & Sea Crédac, Le Contemporary Art Centre of Ivry (2011), Victory Park Tree Painting Cell Project Space, London (2011).

 

 

SANDRA VAKA (b. 1980 in Stavanger) is an artist based in Stavanger and Berlin. Vaka holds an MFA from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a BFA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Vaka has recently exhibited at Stavanger Art Museum (2020); Kunsthall Stavanger (2019); Etopia Center for Art & Technology in Zaragoza (2019); Aldea in Bergen (2019); KaviarFactory in Svolvær (2019); Polansky Gallery in Brno (2019); KINDL – Zentrum für Zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin (2018); The Photo Biennale in Danmark (2018); Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City (2017); Stavanger Art Museum (2017); Kunstnerforbundet in Oslo (2017); NoPlace in Oslo (2017); Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo (2016); Kunstverein Nürnberg (2016); Lillehammer Kunstmuseum (2016); and Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (2015). From 2011-2017, Vaka was part of running the exhibition space and collaborative project, TOVES, in Copenhagen. She has taken part in the outdoor exhibitions Kunstscenen in Copenhagen (2019); WILDLIFE Sculpture Park in Nesodden, Oslo (2017); and STONEROSES in Berlin (2014). Previously, Vaka has created public artworks for KORO in a nature reserve in the Northern Norway. At the moment she is working on a permanent outdoor sculpture for Oslo municipality. Her first publication, detailing the longer photo project Jugs, is set to be published on Heavy Books later this year.

 

 

RAGNHILD AAMÅS (b. 1984 in Volda), lives and works in Oslo. Aamås is a graduate of Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design (London), the University of Oslo and the Oslo Academy of the Arts. She runs the exhibition space PODIUM (Oslo), together with Ayatgali Tuleubek and Ignas Krunglevičius. Aamås has recently exhibited and given performances at Kunstnerforbundet (Oslo), KUBE (Ålesund), Monnaie de Paris, Vandaler forening (Oslo), Kunsthall Stavanger and Kunstnernes Hus.