Something's Growing In the Arctic, Soloshow at ada Wien, 2023

Since 2018, I have been traveling to areas beyond the Arctic Circle for my work. I have always had a fascination with places that are closer to the poles. This fascination is problematic because of the fabled white male explorer myth and the associated colonisation and exoticisation/othering of unknown worlds. This legacy often goes hand in hand with a euro-centric gaze and the construction of a place. The ‘North’ still persists as a romantic symbol but the Arctic not white nor lifeless (cl. Chris J. Gismondi).

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A critical reflection of the past and questioning positions and narratives are indispensable, also concerning one's own point of view. Truths are relative to the imagination that invents them. It's not the content of experience that we end up with, but the structure of how we know something (Gretel Ehrlich).

Is it possible to explore in different ways and form sustainable transnational relationships to create (and collaborate on) works that are not based on hierarchies or ideologies? What does responsibility look like in artistic creation? What does my fondness and longing for unknown places say about my own identity and how do I relate to the space I am in?