Presentation of ARNA artists 2015

Tree sky stone stream – elements
of a landscape
The Avian Kingdom in Sweden is slowly
on the move. It is heading towards the
north pole, to reconnect to the
continental plates it once was part of at
the equator. It is a slow move, you have
all the time you need to read all the
signs from its travels through history.
The once 100 km wide ice flood is today
a small river. The footprints of huge ice
blocks left behind the glacier are now
the lakes. Today it is a land-scape for
birds and scientists to love. Here is also
the artist in residence ARNA situated,
exploring
the connections between humans and
nature through the arts. During 2015
ten artists from around the world
explored the Avian Kingdom through
the theme ”tree sky stone stream” in
visual arts, music, poetry and solar
installations. Through the different
expressions
they
also
described
humans search for the point in mind
where inner and outer landscapes meet
to form a deeper understanding of life.
In all their individual ways they found
such moments in The Avian Kingdom, a
landscape on the move, explored
through art.
1
ARNA Art Lab
Art Lab - Open Studio during the Harlösa's day
2
'Tree of (___) #13', collage
Travis Wyche
U.S.A
www.traviswyche.com
I make collages because everything that can
be known about our human universe can
be found in books and I want to use
everything that’s available to present a
simple truth, that every-thing is intertwined.
I am currently focused on making trees:
cosmic trees that hold all of the things of
the world in their branches; colossal trees
with roots that form the base of the world;
astrological trees that sail the solar winds of
imagination; cabalistic trees that hold
secrets to our origins; ancient trees that are
wild untam-able spirit keepers of the forest;
bonsai trees that attempt to further the
aesthetic perfection of nature; dynamic
trees that breathe sky and communicate
with tickling mushroom toes all around us
all the time.
I feel the transference of invisible energy
passing between all things and want to
participate with my surroundings in a
positive way. My orgone-generating
sculptures utilize natural materials collected
from my walks around Harlösa in order to
create powerful objects of pure form, pure
place, and pure intention, so that the owner
can always keep the essence of Skåne close at
hand.
3
Hyunju Chung
South Korea
https://chunghyunju.wordpress.com
It always starts from curiosity. I expected
what I would see in Harlösa with respect to
nature, to its inhabitants, to their lives and
movements. Being as I do in Harlösa, I've
had not only empirical observation of the
landscapes, but also the places become
meaningful in relation to people, and
people build up knowledge and identities in
connection with the landscapes in which
they find themselves.
I work with paper materials for drawing.
I've developed drawings into visible/audible
works of the landscapes. I arranged documentation of them during ARNA Art Lab.
Above all, I'm lucky to have warm-hearted
ARNA members and neighbours. What is
special for me is that I encounter with these
international artists, and I have precious
time with them for sharing thoughts of art,
ecological
enviro-nment
and
fruitful
discussion for each art practice.
4
” note of raps” pencil and water colour on paper
Alexandra Centmayer and
Rolf Behringer (sunWorks)
Germany
www.alexandracentmayer.com
http://youtu.be/k1-1fzTf7A0 (Harlösa solar
installation)
Alexandra: As an artist and painter I am
inspired by nature. The starting point is
mostly found in my direct surroundings,
something I see or experience. From there
a process begins and a dialogue is
triggered. Rolf: I am a solar expert, working
in the field of education and solar cooking.
With our solar drawings we want to
document sunlight conditions in different
parts of the world. Inspired by nature and
people in the Avian Kingdom we developed
a homage to the rich bird life during our
residency. With “lightWings” we created a
space in one of the ARNA houses, where
airstream and buzzing, referring to the
sensation of the flying movement can be
experienced. Solar panels power our
installation, and so, according to the varying
availability of sunlight, the flying movement
can come out more or less vivid.
Working together as a duo we have an
artistic approach based on the sun. The sun
´s continuous power, varied by daily and
yearly rhythms and obstructions due to
weather conditions, drives our projects.
Therefore extended periods of sunlight in
northern Europe´s summer attracted us.
”
'lightWings”
5
ARNA Art Lab
Walk and Talk in the Park; art and science event
6
”Swedish landscapes and birds ”
Nancy Hart
Texas, USA
http://nancyhart3.blogspot.se
I wanted to come to ARNA since my artistic
research involves using bird imagery. Being
here gives my work a sense of place by
experiencing the light in the summer, the
sights and sounds of the birds, along with
the green landscape filled with red and
white buildings.
has a feather found outside the studio door,
and inside, I used Falu red and white paint.
Since every night I see the sky full of birds
heading for the trees near the Harlosa
library, I made a paper collage that shows
birds gathering near a tree.
I was fascinated by the birdhouses I observed in the trees, which resulted in the
“Bird+House” prints. The colors, Falu red
and white, are used throughout Sweden.
Therefore, the title for series of books,
collages and prints is “Falu” because of the
red color.
Shortly after arriving, I bought a secondhand book in Lund with photographs of the
Swedish countryside and the wildlife. This
became a starting point for the series of
works I made at ARNA. I created a wood
book containing pages of landscapes with
engravings of birds. The front of the box
7
'The town now and the town before'
Kit Kelen
Australia/Macao
The 'tree-stone-sky-stream' them seems
particularly relevant to an 'avian kingdom'
because tree and stone and sky and stream
are collectively a home for the birds. So
many birds! But these ideas also connect
with work I've been doing for many years
now – responding in art and poetry to
natural and built environments (and their
interaction) in various parts of the world.
advice for poets
worship the earth
the all we have
sun for warmth
and stars from which time
worship with hands
and love hands too
with the heart give
with each breath be given
do this with each word
8
Carol Archer
Australia/Hong Kong
www.carolarcher.com
The drawings and mixed media pictures I
have made during my residency in the
Avian Kingdom focus on the trees here: the
variousness of their shapes, the ways they
catch and block the summer light, and the
patterns they form when they appear in
parks, alongside walking paths, roads,
streams and fields, and in the forest.
Engaging with the verdant natural environment and thriving creative community of
the Avian Kingdom has been an effective
catalyst for this new phase of my artistic
research on the theme of 'tree sky stone
stream.'
9
ARNA Music Lab
”Music-fika”
10
Jenny Lahtinen
Finland
I am a versatile pianist/composer with a jazz
background.
https://soundcloud.com/jenny-lahtinen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=GKjGYoO6DVY
As living in a bigger in city I always find that
there's lacking of connection to the nature.
When I first read about Harlösa and got
familiar with the Avian Kingdom, I
immediately knew it would give the perfect
surroundings and inspiration for artistic
creativeness. Avian Kingdom with it’s
beautiful landscape inspires and gives the
kind of peace and quietness an artist needs
to get to contact with the inner intuition.
Nature has always inspired me with its own
being, colors and sounds. I memorize
details, take pictures and walk around just
to feel in the atmosphere. Harlösa is filled
with inspiring details - visually as historically as well. Sky, trees and streams have
always inspired me and I felt Harlösa surroundings offered me the possibility to
experience those elements from a near
distance in a everyday life.
11
Detail from one of Sven's tractors
Laura Aish
Great Britain
I am an artist who works with film, sound
and live performance elements. Further
examples of my work can be found online
here:
www.laura-aish.tumblr.com/projects
I spend a lot of my time at home in
cityscapes and often feel dislocated from
nature - but ARNA gives the chance to
reconnect with these natural landscapes.
My work has been influenced greatly by the
different aspects of the theme ‘tree sky
stone stream’ and from being in The Avian
Kingdom, as nature is so uniquely present
here. The wildlife and natural beauty are
central to the experience of staying in
Harlosa and have consistently framed the
development of my work. It has been an
exciting and special opportunity to connect
my work with the natural environment and
to learn more about it.
12
A highlight was to work with Sven to
incorporate his tractors into my work. It
was fantastic to learn more about the
machines and to share in his passion for
them. I was particularly excited about this
project due to its connection with Harlosa
and it was great to also explore machines
that have such a direct connection to the
land.
photo from Silvåkratornet
Wesley Berg
Ohio, USA
As a visual artist, I create drawings which
focus on the human experience in nature.
As a musician I create music based on
spaces, landscapes and human connection.
Visual art: www.wesleyberg.com
Glacier Face music can be found at:
soundcloud.com/glacierface
referring to clouds, sky and streams--the
curving stream. The Avian Kingdom seems
to me, a place which simply must inspire
artists. I immediately felt a connection to
the landscape and a need to create and
contribute my own responses.
My explorations within the Avian Kingdom
directly influenced the work made during
my stay at the ARNA residency. I was first
struck by the views of Krankesjön from the
bird tower. This led to a video project where
I filmed the lake at different times of the
day for several days. I merged these clips to
create a meditative, slow-transitioning film,
to which I composed a musical score. I also
wrote several songs during my stay. The
lyrics often were direct responses as well,
13
14
15
ARNA - Art and Nature
ARNA is a nonprofit organization. We
support a sustainable development in the
The Avian Kingdom with the vision that it
one day will be the world's first UNESCO
biosphere reserve to include the cultural
dimension of sustainability.
In the center of our work we place our artist
in residence, where artists to explore and
express humans relationships towards
nature.
16
Since 2011 ARNA has hosted 42 artists,
selected out of 485 applications from professional artists from around the world.
Each artist dedicate a couple of weeks of
work, a time of exploring art and nature
that give back to The Avian Kingdom a great
variety of expressions, as through; photography, poetry, sculpture, music, animation,
visual and mixed media arts.
ARNA i Fågelriket
2015
Art work on front page:
”Cabalistic Tree 05” by Travis Wyche
ARNA thank Sparbanksstiftelsen Öresund
for supporting the residency with
Accommodation Grants for 2015.