ÉRASE gallery exhibition

ÉRASE

11/12/08 - 24/01/09

Galería Oliva Araunaww.olivarauna.comCalle Barquillos 29

28004 Madrid / Spaintel.: +34 91 435 18 08fax: +34 91 576 87 19

[email protected]

Kristoffer Ardeña

ERASÉKristoffer Ardeña

Ardeña investiga las complijidades de la memoria a través de una serie de proyectos de formatos multiplesque mueve con fluidez entre la intervención pública, el performance, la instalación artística, la fotografía,

el objeto, la escultora y el dibujo.

En Sweat Memories, explora la relación entre el cuerpo y la memoria utilizando el sudor de 100 personas.

Lejos de entrar en el acertijo de un discurso poscolonial, se despoja de su educación cultural y religiosaborrando un efigie de marmolina en Once There Was a Virgin and Her Kid dejandonos con una serie de

dibujos de marmolina sobre papel de leja negra.

Ardeña escribe sobre cientos de servilletas, coleccionadas desde enero de 2008, la fecha, la hora, el tipode comida, las personas que le hace compania y a veces las anecdotas relacionadas a cada encuentro.

Dinner Dates nos lleva a Bucharest, Paris, Madrid, Luxemburgo hasta que llegamos a la ciudad costerade Tacloban en Leyte, una isla filipina al borde del oceano pacifico donde la fragilidad de cada servilleta

nos cuenta una historia de un momento fugaz en relación con la comida y los eventos que occuren enturno a ellos.

Viajamos a Dumaguete, la ciudad natal de Ardeña donde explora la relación entre lugar y memoria envarios videos. En Sugarland, se puede ver un mapa topográfico de Filipinas hecho de azucar lentamente

deconstruido por unas hormigas. Pure Shores nos muestra el triste intento de Ardeña de escribir los 95nombres de su compañeros del insituto sobre la orilla de la playa solo para quedar borrado por la ola del

mar. En Take me Away From Here Boyd, un guitarista compone una canción en homenaje a la infanciade Ardeña. Homecoming celebra la eterna vuelta hacia la patria como un juego de niños. En vez de utilizar

fuergos artificiales, como un niño, se fue a recoleccionar vainas de una hierba salvaje que se reventancuando toma en contacto con el agua. En el video utiliza como escenario, una cascara de coco lleno dearena y pequeñas conchas y agua del mar. Por ultimo, en Unsung Lullaby, una canción infantil filipina

se escribe en un incenso anti-mosquito del Lion-Tiger, una marca de toda la vida, literalmente disaparecey se convierte en cenizas.

Dumaguete Ashes, un video performance y una instalación que muestra el artista borrando el ultimo viajea Filipinas dejando solo la goma que queda guardados en una urna funeraria.

En la exposición se puede ver también un avance de un proyecto que se llama Apariciones. Trata deobjetos cotidianos (vidrio roto, hojas, desechos de todo tipo) que toma la forma de un mapa de las islas

Filipinas. En la sala, debajo de la mesa se esconde un mapa de Filipinas hecha de chicle.

Una serie de 7 libros de artista –un cuanderno de bocetos, un diario y un cuaderno de notas hechos ensu ultimo viaje a Filipinas, otros cuaderno de notas desde 2005 hasta el presente y una agenda anual del2008- todos borrados, dejandonos con solo rastros de lo que estaba escrito o dibujado sobre su páginas.

Particularmente en esta exposición, explora maneras en presentar obras de arte –para tener aceso a loslibros de artista, la gente tiene que pedirselos al personel de la galeria, asi formentando un dialogo y

interacción, extendiendo a su vez la calidad intimista de cada libro. Otro aspecto de la muestra es comola series de fotos que acompaña cada proyecto no se enseña, sino se pueden producir en dialogo con la

persona interesada en adquirirlas.

Ardeña nos muestra su capacidad de experimentar y moverse de una modalidad a otra y en este exposición,en vez de agotar una sola narrativa, simplemente nos presenta una introducción a algunos de los temas

pertinente a su trayectoria artística.

ERASÉKristoffer Ardeña

Ardeña explores the intricasies of memory through a series of multi-format projects that fluidly movebetween public intervention, performance, video, installation, photography, object, sculpture and drawing.

In Sweat Memories, he explores the relationship between the body and memory through the sweat of 100people.

Far from getting into the conundrums of a post-colonial discourse, he sheds away his cultural and religiousupbringing by erasing a marble effigy in Once There Was a Virgin and Her Kid leaving us with a series

of 100 mable dust drawings on sandpaper.

Ardeña writes on hundreds of table napkins, collected since January 2008, the date, time, kind of food,the company he kept and sometimes the anecdotes related to each encounter. Dinner Dates takes us toBucharest, Paris, Madrid, Luxembourg till we reach the coastal city of Tacloban in Leyte, a Philippineisland that borders the Pacific Ocean where each fragile piece of tissue paper tells a story of a fleeting

moment in relation to food and the events that occur in relation to it.

We then travel to Dumaguete, Ardena’s hometown, where he explores the relationship between place andmemory in various videos. In Sugarland, you can see ants deconstructing a topographical sugar map ofthe Philippines. Pure Shores shows Ardeña’s attempt to write in vain the 95 nicknames of his highschool

classmates along the sea shore only to be erased by the waves. In Take me Away from Here Boyd, aguitarist, composes a song as a tribute to Ardena’s childhood life. Another video, Homecoming, celebratesthe eternal return to one’s homeland as a child’s play. Instead of using firecrackers, like a kid, he collected

pods from wild weeds that burst when in contact with water. In the video, the scenario takes place in acoconut shell, that Ardeña picked up from the beach, filled with tiny shells and sea water. Lastly, we have

Unsung Lullaby, a Filipino children’s song written on a Lion-Tiger brand anti-mosquito incense thatliterary turns into ashes.

Dumaguete Ashes, both a videoperformance piece and an installation, shows how the rubber scrappingsleft after earsing the pencil-written diary and sketchbooks from his latest trip to his homeland turns into

ashes and placed for safekeeping in a funerary urrn.

In Aparitions, all kinds of cotidian materials are used to shape the map of the Philippines. In the exhibitionspace, a chewing gum shaped into the Philippine archipelago is stuck underneath one of the tables.

A series of 7 artist books -a diary, a sketchbook and a notebook made during his last trip to the Philippines,anda few other notebooks from 2005 to the present, and lastly a 2008 agenda- all erased leaving us only traces

of what was once written or drawn.

Particularly, in this exhibit, he explores ways in presenting artworks –to have access to the artist books,the people have to interact with the gallery staff in order to see and feel them. Thus, extending the intimacyintrinsic to each book, through a sporadic encounter. Another aspect of the show is how photo series thataccompany certain projects are not shown, but are produced in dialogue with the interested party involved.

Ardeña shows us his capacity to experiment from one medium to another and in this exhibit, instead ofexasperating a single narrative, merely introduces us to some of the issues pertinent to his artistic trajectory.

Erased Dumaguete Diary 200821x13x0.45 cms.

2008

Erased Dumaguete Sketchbook 200821x13x0.45 cms.

2008

Dumaguete Ashesvideo performance

12:43 minutesThe video shows the artist

erasing the diary and sketchbookhe made in Dumaguete.

The rubber peelings are placed in a funerary urn.

Edition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP2008

Dumaguete Ashes (urn installation)funerary urn, flower, candle

pencil-written diary and sketchbookwere erased using

rubber eraser and the peelings were placed inside the urn

installation2008

Erased Small Red Notebook 200521x16x1 cms.

2008

Erased Agenda 200823.5x17.3x2.4 cms.

2008

Erased Dumaguete Notebook 200821x13x0.45 cms.

2008

Erased Big Red Notebook 200730.5x21x1.25 cms.

2008

Erased Rome Notebook 200619x16.2x3.5 cms.

2008

Erased Small Notebook 200815.5x7x0.45 cms.

2008

Dinner Dates 2008archive of approximately 400 table napkins

contains the date, address, time, doodles,anecdotes and other pertinent information

of the artist’s encounter in which the napkin was used

installation2008

Once There was a Virgin and a KidMarble statue

statue of the Virgin Mary erasedusing 100 sandpaper

32.5x12x10 cms.2008

Once There was a Virgin and a KidSeries of 100 drawings

mable on sandpaper paper28x23 cms.

2008

Sweat Memoriespublic intervention

video documentation15:15 minutes

Edition of 5 / 2AP / 1EPa slide show of images in video format

documenting the public interventionwhere 100 anonymous people in Dumaguete were

asked to wipe their sweat using the towels2008

Homecomingvideo performance

16:35 minutesdried pods of a wildflower

become fireworks that burstinside a coconut shell filled

with sea shells and salt waterEdition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP

2008

Pure Shoresvideo performance

22:56 minutesArdeña writes all the nicknames

of his high school classmateson the sand only to

be erased by the wavesEdition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP

2008

Sugarlandvideo performance

2:26 minutestopographical map of the Philippines

made out of sugar is slowly deconstructed. Ants carry the sugar grain on their back

and disappear into their ant hillEdition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP

2008

Take Me Away from Herevideo performance

4:59 minutesBoyd, composes a tribute song

that talks of Ardeña’s childhood in Dumaguetecalled “Sweet Memories Take Me Away from Here”

In the video we see him performing the songin his bedroom.

Edition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP2008

Unsung Lullabyvideo performance

22:15 minutesA Filipino children’s song

called “Bahay Kubo”,(a song that talks of an ideal Filipino nipa hut home

surrounded by fruit trees and vegetables)is written on an anti-mosquito incense

that is typically used in Filipino households.The video shows how the lullaby slow converts into ashes.

Edition of 5 / 2AP / 1EP2008

Apparitionschewing gum

topographical map of the Philippine archipelago

made of masticated chewing gumpublic intervention

2008