MED ÖGON KÄNSLIGA FÖR GRÖNT (WITH EYES SENSITIVE TO GREEN) — 2023
Solo exhibition at Galleri Duerr, Stockholm, 24 August - 23 September.
The show’s title is borrowed from Barbro Hörberg’s song from 1973, Med Ögon Känsliga för Grönt (With Eyes Sensitive for Green), which carries a different symbolism today. Our relationship with nature has become political and intertwined with identity politics in many ways, where an interest or commitment to nature can be seen as an ideological stance.
Hoogland Ivanow’s exhibition consists of selected fragments from her ongoing work on a feature-length documentary entitled Second Nature, which follows a group of individuals who dream of a communal existence in nature, drawing inspiration from hunters and gatherers. It serves as a contemporary documentation that illuminates our propensity for irrationality and our search for meaning in these challenging times.
What has become evident to Hoogland Ivanow during the film’s production is that the challenge perhaps lies not solely in Western society’s ignorance of nature in terms of practical knowledge or conveniences but rather in individualism and a lack of willingness to collaborate, as well as the unwillingness to give up certain privileges. The exhibition underscores the importance of reflecting on one another and our aspirations, where nature assumes a secondary role. This might be where the difficulty of the overall transition lies. For Hoogland Ivanow, the film serves as a mirror reflecting the paradoxes of human behavior and the disorientation that characterizes our times, conveying these complexities through an interpretation that blends humor, absurdity, and evocative imagery.
EXHIBITION TEXT — Jonatan Habib Engqvist
EXHIBITED WORKS —
Second Nature I, 2022 — Photogrammetry, animation
Second Nature II, 2021 — Multi-channel sound, mellotron
Second Nature GYDA, 2022-23 — Sound Installation, 8 min.
Second Nature Decay, 2022-2023 — Digital film, 3:30 min/sec
Warfare on the Flesh, 1917 — Film
Satellite + Circular Wait + Second Nature + Green, 2009-2023 — Montage of 18 Photographs
Second Nature I — 2022
Photogrammetry, animation.
Photogrammetry of a peat hut built on Uvberget, Vackstanäs, 2017, dismantled after a court decision in 2021, regarding legislation on shoreline protection. Photogrammetry, as its name implies, is a three-dimensional coordinate measuring technique that uses photographs as the fundamental medium for metrology or measurement. The fundamental principle used in photogrammetry is triangulation.
Second Nature II — 2021
Multi-channel sound, mellotron.
A multi-channel composition for a mellotron, an early electroacoustic instrument that can be described as a precursor to the sampler, with pre-recorded sequences on tape loops. Composition features actress Gaby Stenberg's (1923-2011) insect mellotron and her recording around 1980 of bumblebees in Giss.
With recording/sound mixing and with thanks to: KKH, Rothhandlestudio, Matti Bye and Redpipe.
Second Nature GYDA, 2022-23
8-minute loop for 6 headphones, wood and filtered light. Recorded in Sörmland, 2020-21 and Norway during the Gyda storm, 2022.
Music: Matti Bye
Editors: Martina Hoogland Ivanow, Dominika Daubenbüchel
Sound Mix: Thomas Jansson, Redpipe
Producer: Cecilia Björk, MDEMC
With thanks to: Fjäderfäna, Naturliv, Andris Fågelviskaren, Stensund and Vackstanäs, the Swedish Film Institute, and Film Stockholm.
Second Nature Decay — 2022-2023
Digital film and animation to 35mm color print, collective greenwashing (2022) and bokashi compost (2023), 3:38 min.
Director: Martina Hoogland Ivanow, 2022
Editor: Martina Hoogland Ivanow and Dominika Daubenbüchel
Animation: David Giese
With thanks to: Kalbjärga Film Festival, SE, EYE Filmmuseum, NL, and Simona Monizza
Satellite + Circular Wait + Second Nature + Green, 2009 - 2023
Montage of 18 photographs, each framed 52 x 62 cm
Satellite, 2009-10, edition 1/5 + 2 AP
Circular wait, 2010-14, edition 1/4 + 2 AP
Second Nature, 2019-23, edition 1/4 + 2 AP
Green # 1-9, 2023, edition 1/6 + 2 AP