Topographies of Fragility
An exhibition of artworks by the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize 2021 Photography Winner
Ingrid Weyland
Curated by Averil Curci
On display at the Ashurst Emerging Artist Gallery, 25th October 2021 - 7th January 2022
Ingrid Weyland
Curated by Averil Curci
On display at the Ashurst Emerging Artist Gallery, 25th October 2021 - 7th January 2022
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The climate emergency is a pressing theme and many contemporary artists are using their practice to shine a light on the ill effects of our actions, with tangible urgency. In her ongoing series, Topographies of Fragility, Ingrid Weyland comments on the biggest issue of our times through a unique and original approach to image making. Having traversed the globe from southern Argentina to Greenland, her work revolves around her personal connection with Nature, where unspoiled, almost surreal, landscapes act as sanctuaries, offering silence, solitude and containment.
Weyland adopts a cunning strategy with Topographies of Fragility, experimenting with the materiality and vulnerability of the photographic medium itself. Initially vast, immaculate and timeless landscapes seduce the viewer to the image. Upon closer inspection, it is evident the artist has intervened by employing a simple yet effective technique whereby a copy of the image itself has been aggressively manipulated, destroyed and overlaid. There’s a surprising and subtle oscillation between the brutal tridimemsionality of the crumpled image, and the flat, undisturbed landscape behind it. The juxtaposition of majestic nature with its own ravaged counterpart, prompts a dramatic reminder of environmental degradation, alluding to the damage inflicted by humans, thus questioning our true relationship with the natural world.
It is said that a wrinkled piece of paper can never regain its original shape; the trace persists. In the same way, nature has been disrespectfully invaded and broken, and in some cases this may be irreversible.
Weyland adopts a cunning strategy with Topographies of Fragility, experimenting with the materiality and vulnerability of the photographic medium itself. Initially vast, immaculate and timeless landscapes seduce the viewer to the image. Upon closer inspection, it is evident the artist has intervened by employing a simple yet effective technique whereby a copy of the image itself has been aggressively manipulated, destroyed and overlaid. There’s a surprising and subtle oscillation between the brutal tridimemsionality of the crumpled image, and the flat, undisturbed landscape behind it. The juxtaposition of majestic nature with its own ravaged counterpart, prompts a dramatic reminder of environmental degradation, alluding to the damage inflicted by humans, thus questioning our true relationship with the natural world.
It is said that a wrinkled piece of paper can never regain its original shape; the trace persists. In the same way, nature has been disrespectfully invaded and broken, and in some cases this may be irreversible.
