Treignac Projet, Treignac, France
July 22 – Sept. 3, 2017
“Much Later We Go For A Swim” was part of the group exhibition “Intra-Structures – Monster of the Seven Lakes”, curated by Jussi Koitela.
Põld’s work was based on the later life and writings of Tove Jansson, the Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and the author of the Moomin books. The site-specific installation is divided between three separate locations which together form an abstract space – a room similar to the one on the island of Klovharu, in which Tove Jansson spent most of her last twenty years with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä, painting and writing books for adults with autobiographical content. The first part of the work, in a white gallery space, concentrates on the process of painting and consists of large canvases and delicate details, such as embroidery, handmade costumes and found objects. The second location is an industrial space, in which a metal structure imitates the forms of a landscape. Staging or recreating landscapes through material objects has been a recurrent theme in Põld’s artistic practice. This part of the installation is also the setting of a performance which Laura Põld conducted together with Australian installation artist Rachel Schenberg. The third part of the installation is in the open air, mixing the natural environment of a moss-covered cliff with man-made and found objects which imitate natural forms. The installation Much Later We Go For A Swim is based on a cognitive approach to an artist’s life, to the surrounding landscape and to painting. Laura Põld draws upon the Moomin world, geography and human-non-human materiality of the isolated Klovharu island, where Tove Jansson spent her summers, and the spatial conditions of the Treignac Projet, to create an installation of multiple material and narrative layers.
Photos by Rachel Schenberg
