SOLO exhibitions
Internal landscapes - RAM gallery 2011
Sands of Time The work presented by Ella Heidi Sand in "Internal Landscapes" refreshes our ideas of what Contemporary Jewellery can be. It is no coincidence that the work can both be seen as an Installation and as a collection of individual objects. Sand blends her pieces with the bare architecture of RAM gallery to create an atmosphere of intimacy that also permeates her jewels. It is easy for our attention to be firstly drawn to the large size of the objects - objects which are made to be worn. The proportion of these objects in relation to the wearer creates an awareness not only to themselves but to the body of the person as the frame of a painting. It is not common nowadays to see an object engage the wearer in such way, a quality that Sand boldly explores. As we examine the work at a closer level, our attention is further directed to the complexity of the details. Each piece is a diary of a process where the most precious element is Time. For the work of Sand takes time. Time to create, time to observe, time to savour. That, in today's faster-than-sound world, is a luxury indeed; call it a precious stone. The organlike appearance of the objects, inspired by our common internal landscapes, reminds us of our physical transience and of Man's ever incessant inwards searching. Finally, by wearing them on the body, these jewels become a self-referential, yet paradoxical statement. The inside on the outside or vice-versa? If jewellery has always fascinated for its value, intricate detail and fine aesthetics, Sand follows the tradition of this legacy and adds lightheartedness and a touch of the exotic. A journey through the inside of things that matter, intelligently displayed as a key that may open the observer's own world of meaning. Sand creates, layer upon layer, in metal and color and shape, the hypnotic tools to do so. Of the rare moments when we allow ourselves to be lost in the maze of our own thoughts, this exhibition is one of the gentlest. Manuel Vilhena 2011 |