Created by Ingrunn O. Myrland
Tracks 1 and 2 are inspired by melting glaciers and soil erosion; natural processes that are occurring today to a greater extent and with greater force than before, as a consequence of human actions and man-made climate change.
The earth is us and we are it.
Track 1 is made based on an overview picture from the top of a perforated ice sheet. Ponds of glacial water form when the ice melts, and the water burrows its way down through layer after layer. Just as the tree has annual rings, the ice also has annual rings that are gradually exposed as the water finds its way through the layers of time, encapsulated history that is gradually washed away. A trickling stream turns into a river that breaks up and rips loose.
Track 2 is made based on an image of a dried-up soil surface. Soil erosion is the constant wear and tear that occurs on the earth's surface when external forces such as extreme temperatures, running water, glaciers, wind or waves drag and gnaw away at rock particles, moving material from one place to another.
In several places in the world; in the USA, in Central America and in Africa, every year large areas of arable land disappear, and agricultural areas are transformed into barren land and desert. This happens when people destroy and remove forests, drive for intensive cultivation, and keep too many animals that trample vegetation and devastate grazing areas.
The images are also thought of as wound surfaces; the scars/traces we create in our surroundings, in nature, can also be reflected in ourselves. We are part of the larger context. Without everything else, we don't exist either.
The installation is composed of two separate works, built up surface by surface, like topographical maps. The technique is machine and hand sewing on cotton textiles. Each layer is cut, sewn and turned before being stiffened and fitted together with hand stitching
