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[April 18th 2002]
interview
Ida Unsgaard 2002
Ida Unsgaard in New York
- Finding her way in the dark
Young Danish photographer Ida Unsgaard exhibiting
new work at Sterilemind Gallery in New York. Interview with the
artist by Sophie Pucill
Exhibition: April 18th - May 28th
2002
Sterilemind Gallery
230 Mulberry St, mellem Prince & Spring
New York, USA
Subway: N/R til Prince eller 6 til Spring
Tlf: - 212-941-6767
mike@sterilemind.com
www.sterilemind.com
press release
A peep at the opening
What's special about photography?
As representational media and an image reproducing technique photography
has a distinct ability of seemingly capturing 'the real', a feeling,
depicting a decisive moment.
What do you mean by "depicting a decisive moment"?
To be able to maintain a moment, a mood, an atmosphere by using
a media that doesn't show movement, like for example film does,
and representing reality as we see it rather than a staged reality
like in the world of film and advertising.
(right) Ida Unsgaard Mummy 2002
(left) Ida Unsgaard My sister 2002
What are your methods and goals as a photographer?
I seldom photograph, and for the most part, only when I'm alone,
driven by my subconsciousness; a spontaneous approach where I refrain
from thinking, and photograph with my gut feeling. I tend to photograph
mainly at night, as I'm afraid of the dark, and that in itself is
a challenge. My fear of darkness gives me an adrenalin rush, and
I become very awake and inspired. In a sense, there is something
within me that has an urge to do this, it's difficult to describe.
I suppose it's a form of psychological process, where I make use
of images that represent themselves as flashbacks, working with
them; trying to grasp a past that is inevitably slipping away.
As an artist and a photographer my work is formed by my belief that
it is the personal and honesty that are important, as I don't like
artificial or unnatural situations depicted in photography, staged
as every day life.
(tv) Ida Unsgaard
Empty chair 2002
(right) Ida Unsgaard The other side
2002
Can you describe the subject matter in your present work?
My present work is autobiographical, where I travel back in time,
and study my life and family's history through good and bad using
photography. The theme unfolds itself through images of interiors,
objects, wallpaper, paintings and photographs from my childhood
homes in Denmark and Scotland. By first glance my photographs seem
mysterious, cryptic, secretive; every time one finds a message or
understands a message in them, one discovers new messages, new ways
of understanding. My older sister often points out that I tend to
be living my life in the past, I guess she is right. It's probably
something to do with my fear of leaving the nest, letting go, living
my own life.
You depict structures, making textures tangible, and are seemingly
fascinated by the thing in itself as trace, as memory - what thoughts
or strategies are you working with here?
I wish to bring the viewer closer, allure the viewer into looking
further into the images, so that the onlooker doesn't just walk
past the photographs without getting an impression of the feeling
or the atmosphere, the full impact of the messages embedded in the
images.
(left) Ida Unsgaard The hall 2002
(right) Ida Unsgaard The view from my room 2002
Why are the photographs square and in colour, and how big are
they?
I like that feeling of intimacy, which the square format has, and
am fond of colours because they add to the feeling of texture, detail
and 'colour'. The photographs in the exhibition are presented in
the size 28x28 inches, the film size being 6x6. This is rather large
because I find it important that others get the feeling of being
able to step into the illusion of a three dimensional space in front
of each of the photographs. In this way the viewer might literally
be 'taken in' by the atmosphere of the image.
Why is it important for you to make these images?
It's important for me to do what I'm doing because the subject matter
in my work is something that is very close to me, something I feel
a need to work with and explore. It comes naturally, and it's important
to me that my work entirely comes from my own will, desires and
impulses. I'm rarely inspired by 'made to order' assignments.
(left) Ida Unsgaard The dining room 2002
(right) Ida Unsgaard Edgerston 2002
It's characteristic for your work that you're guided by several
localities, all significant for your sense of identity; your 'home'
is not a specific place but several places…
Yes. I was born in South Africa by Danish parents, but have always
moved around a lot with my family, between homes in South Africa,
Denmark and Scotland, until my parents separated. My family are
farmers. There were clearly good and bad sides to this kind of life,
in terms of schooling it was a struggle. Of course it was a wonderful
experience being exposed to different cultures and languages, and
great to be able to escape the Danish winters, and live in a warm
climate. On the other hand there was a great amount of uncertainty
related to such an unsettling way of living.
The most difficult part was probably the feeling of constantly being
taken away, detached, from a beloved place, our dog, friends - which
is certainly the reason why I don't like change today, and why my
work holds such an element of nostalgia, of loss, absence, and longing.
My childhood home, Entabeni, burnt down in December 2000 due to
a bushfire, and it has been especially since this event, that I
have felt myself drawn towards the need to document, and sustain
every possible important memory and detail of my parents and childhood.
(left) Ida Unsgaard December 2000 2002
(right) Ida Unsgaard The drawing room 2002
What do you hope to achieve using an autobiographical strategy
and process, which your work so clearly represents?
I hope to achieve a greater understanding of my growing up as a
child, of my parents and of who I am today.
What do you feel art can do in this respect?
Art is a creative mode of expression that gives us a more profound
understanding of the artist's feelings, thoughts and personality.
Art is important because it allows us to express ourselves freely.
What can the viewer use this understanding for? (Who is "us"?)
'Us' is mankind, humanity, all people who have the potential to
express themselves freely, however many don't. The viewer can use
the art work to be able to see the world from a different perspective,
and not just from the everyday pesonal view. It can be a healthy
thing to learn about how other people feel and think.
(left) Ida Unsgaard "Jeg kunne godt lide det hus..."
(I liked that house...) 2002
(right) Ida Unsgaard A present for Besser 2002
I've become very aware of the way you 'put light in to darkness',
so to speak. You induce light in a very specific way, it seems a
central strategy to your present work.
In the photographs where the harsh, abrupt flash light creates
a large area of sheer white in the middle of the image, this seems
to function like an opening, I feel. A puncture straight through
the image - a fissure through the image as flat representation and
a gap in the image as spatial 'historical' narrative. As if you
want to force your way into a 'reality' you don't have access to.
It's very brutal and in its own stunning way, quite beautiful.
In other images you use the light coming from outside, letting it
find it's way into the rooms of the houses; marking out detail and
forms like line drawings of light barely touching the silhouettes
of the things themselves. Here the light is used more poetically
giving the impression of a more 'open' strategy, as if you're trying
to allure these things into telling their own story.
What do you say to this impression?
I think your analysis of the way I use the flash in the dark as
a central strategy is very precise. Using the rigid and abrupt flash
is most certainly an aggressive method, where I'm subconsciously
trying to force my way into a past / a reality that I no longer
have access to, which I'm angry at or saddened about.
In the photographs where the flash forms a clear burst of light
across the image (in the world of fashion this is called flash trash),
i.e. the photograph called Gjedsergaard (my childhood home
in Denmark), Empty chair (my father's empty chair in the
library) and The drawing room, the flash functions as an
important reminder of the present, of this moment, of 'now'; in
a way trying to restore or revive the time of the past, but in such
a way that, in some cases, this image of an image to taken to another
level.
Your description of my using light as something more poetic in my
daylight images is also very precise. By making use of the existing
incident light I'm trying, in a more refined and subtle way, to
entice things into telling their own story, no compulsion used here.
Thank you… It's really great when someone from the outside can put
these things into words, and is interested in my working methods!
Ida Unsgaard Gjedsergaard 2002
Do you work with other media than photography?
Not at the moment, but in future I really look forward to experimenting
wih painting and film.
What's next?
I hope to pursue my career as an artist, the most favourable thing
would be to continue exhibiting, hopefully in Copenhagen one day,
and to continue working on my long-term project. At the moment I
plan to add to my autobiographical work about my life and the history
of my family, with landscape images from my native surroundings.
Moreover, I have applied to the Art Academy in Copenhagen, and to
three art schools in London (fine art photography and critical studies).
What's it like having this exhibition at Sterilemind Gallery
in New York?
I'm very excited to have been given this great opportunity, it's
a fantastic possibility for a Danish photographer to exhibit in
a city with such a throbbing and grand art scene.
Ida Unsgaard, born 1975
1999 Copenhagen Technical School, photography.
1999 Freelance assistant photographer in Copenhagen
2000 Fatamorgana, The Danish School of Art Photography, Copenhagen
2000 - 2001 The International Center of Photography, New York, one
year certificate program.
2001 - 2002 Part-time student at ICP, as well as preparing for my
exhibition at Sterilemind Gallery
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