SETTINGS & FINDINGS N.8 WITH CAMILLA LUIHN
SETTINGS & FINDINGS WITH CAMILLA LUIHN by matt lambert:
I first was in touch with Camilla Luihn to prepare for a visit to the Oslo National Academy of the Arts or KHIO to run a week long intensive with students. This intense time was an incubator for deep and rich conversations both with students and faculty. I admire Camillas dedication to exploring enamel, a process I know little about. She uses the specialized techniques of enameling and the format of the brooch to reflect on the detritus of a gathering. A way to memorialize the remnants of a joyous moment, a badge or keepsake reminding us that our emotional experiences come and go and the importance of remembering the good times when we did and hopefully will meet together again. -matt.
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Det som blir igjen / What remains
"Do you remember that party? That dinner? When we got up the next day and the floor was covered with debris. Curly napkins, wine stains, broken glass, and leftover food. As if a giant hand had swept it to the floor. As if someone had danced on the table. Before we cleared, it was like a polaroid image of a moment. A still life.
Maybe it was before the pandemic. Or was it after?
If I try to capture these moments; the party, everyday life, the encounters, smells and tastes - fleeting colors and shapes emerge. Abstract and intangible memories of what has happened. That cannot really be described, but now are melted into glass and metal.
And it’s what you see on the road. On the beach. Found in a pocket where it was long forgotten. It is the smooth stone, the shell, the pretty shard of glass. The concert ticket, the lock of hair. It’s the ring and the chain. Photos, receipts, keys. Through winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Do you also collect everything? I pick it up and take it with me. I look at it, take it with me or leave it.
But what do these objects mean? Do they function as a three-dimensional memory book for the society we live in? Without me, who puts them in context, they may be just worthless fragments to others. Symbols of love. Of time passing. Without us remembering what they are, where they come from - it might just be rubbish.
(Text from upcoming artist book)
I will argue that setting and finding is the anchor of this project that began as a fascination for the still life. It is based on inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman floor mosaics where food leftovers and rubbish are depicted in painstaking detail in the mosaic. These were called unswept floors (asàrotos òikos) and may have been a visual proof of abundance and wealth. Other interpretations may be that it was food for the dead, or memento mori. The collecting and examination of what might be considered rubbish engages me to reflect on what is valuable, how we interact, how we treat each other, our environment and our surroundings.
This project presents works that balance finely on the line of what is wearable and not wearable, what is the original and the copy, or what has been found or is created. Contemporary jewelry art opens up opportunities to explore bodily identity in a unique relationship with the public. Leftover food, moods, bills, lost friendships and unfinished projects draw up a narrative that is as poetic and personal as it is political.
I try to explore the potential for the dialogue and the communicative aspects of jewelry that relate to questions about identity, signals and cultural identity markers. My ambition as an artist is based on a strong desire to research and investigate visual, formal, and technical resources to express a comprehensible message. I am fascinated by jewelry as a mediation tool for communication and how it positions works of art into a context that is accessible to a larger audience. To me, the results of jewelry and objects being activated by the user appear as an eternal point of tension where the artwork intervenes and creates an interpersonal dialogue. The medium challenges art’s physical limit and immobility and achieve an ever-changing viewing arena.
My artistic research is centered around enamel as a technical medium and specialization. I find the process; the infinite technical and color possibilities so interesting and inspiring. I immerse myself into the enamel universe, only occasionally coming up for air. If you ask me why I find working with enamel so fascinating – I could talk for hours. But as with other technical processes it’s only a medium that allows me to express my artistic views. It’s not essential, but it is an important influence on my work." Camilla Luihn
Media handles:
www.luihn.no
www.luihn.no/portabel
http://instagram.com/luihn
http://instagram.com/portabelgalleri
www.khio.no
I first was in touch with Camilla Luihn to prepare for a visit to the Oslo National Academy of the Arts or KHIO to run a week long intensive with students. This intense time was an incubator for deep and rich conversations both with students and faculty. I admire Camillas dedication to exploring enamel, a process I know little about. She uses the specialized techniques of enameling and the format of the brooch to reflect on the detritus of a gathering. A way to memorialize the remnants of a joyous moment, a badge or keepsake reminding us that our emotional experiences come and go and the importance of remembering the good times when we did and hopefully will meet together again. -matt.
------
Det som blir igjen / What remains
"Do you remember that party? That dinner? When we got up the next day and the floor was covered with debris. Curly napkins, wine stains, broken glass, and leftover food. As if a giant hand had swept it to the floor. As if someone had danced on the table. Before we cleared, it was like a polaroid image of a moment. A still life.
Maybe it was before the pandemic. Or was it after?
If I try to capture these moments; the party, everyday life, the encounters, smells and tastes - fleeting colors and shapes emerge. Abstract and intangible memories of what has happened. That cannot really be described, but now are melted into glass and metal.
And it’s what you see on the road. On the beach. Found in a pocket where it was long forgotten. It is the smooth stone, the shell, the pretty shard of glass. The concert ticket, the lock of hair. It’s the ring and the chain. Photos, receipts, keys. Through winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Do you also collect everything? I pick it up and take it with me. I look at it, take it with me or leave it.
But what do these objects mean? Do they function as a three-dimensional memory book for the society we live in? Without me, who puts them in context, they may be just worthless fragments to others. Symbols of love. Of time passing. Without us remembering what they are, where they come from - it might just be rubbish.
(Text from upcoming artist book)
I will argue that setting and finding is the anchor of this project that began as a fascination for the still life. It is based on inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman floor mosaics where food leftovers and rubbish are depicted in painstaking detail in the mosaic. These were called unswept floors (asàrotos òikos) and may have been a visual proof of abundance and wealth. Other interpretations may be that it was food for the dead, or memento mori. The collecting and examination of what might be considered rubbish engages me to reflect on what is valuable, how we interact, how we treat each other, our environment and our surroundings.
This project presents works that balance finely on the line of what is wearable and not wearable, what is the original and the copy, or what has been found or is created. Contemporary jewelry art opens up opportunities to explore bodily identity in a unique relationship with the public. Leftover food, moods, bills, lost friendships and unfinished projects draw up a narrative that is as poetic and personal as it is political.
I try to explore the potential for the dialogue and the communicative aspects of jewelry that relate to questions about identity, signals and cultural identity markers. My ambition as an artist is based on a strong desire to research and investigate visual, formal, and technical resources to express a comprehensible message. I am fascinated by jewelry as a mediation tool for communication and how it positions works of art into a context that is accessible to a larger audience. To me, the results of jewelry and objects being activated by the user appear as an eternal point of tension where the artwork intervenes and creates an interpersonal dialogue. The medium challenges art’s physical limit and immobility and achieve an ever-changing viewing arena.
My artistic research is centered around enamel as a technical medium and specialization. I find the process; the infinite technical and color possibilities so interesting and inspiring. I immerse myself into the enamel universe, only occasionally coming up for air. If you ask me why I find working with enamel so fascinating – I could talk for hours. But as with other technical processes it’s only a medium that allows me to express my artistic views. It’s not essential, but it is an important influence on my work." Camilla Luihn
Media handles:
www.luihn.no
www.luihn.no/portabel
http://instagram.com/luihn
http://instagram.com/portabelgalleri
www.khio.no
Picture Credits
List of photos
Photo: Camilla Luihn
- Installation view
- Installation view Kunstnerforbundet
- Fishbone. Enamel, copper, silver
- Flame. Enamel, copper, silver
- Braid. Enamel, copper, silver
- Bird head. Enamel, copper, silver
- Hand. Enamel, copper, silver
Photo: Camilla Luihn - Heart. Enamel, copper, silver
Photo: Camilla Luihn - Paper. Enamel, copper, silver
Photo: Camilla Luihn - Banana peel. Enamel, copper, silver
Photo: Camilla Luihn - Molded lemon. Enamel, copper, silver
Photo: Camilla Luihn
Photo: Camilla Luihn
