Nadine Byrne: "A Different Gesture" at Zabriskie / Friday, 22.01.2016

Nadine Byrne is a Swedish artist who creates works that reflect her interest in ritual, nature and femininity. Nadine Byrne’s work initially strikes as innocent and pure in its display of seemingly random objects and creations. A set of stones tied together with rope, a walking staff straight out of the forest, elaborate costumes designed to reflect colours from Il Carso rocks in Italy, hand sewn patterns originally designed by her mother, film sequences and photographs of sundazed elements.

Byrne’s art appears so silent, sensitive and private. We are allowed inside for a brief moment or two, to take part of an almost childlike joy of poetic exploration. But when we rest a while and look again, we see patterns clearly. In these patterns, there is movement, development, research, curiosity. Rock, stones and earth become pigments that colour textiles designed for inclusion on photographic negatives and super 8 film.

Clay becomes sculptures that appear to bear organic traits, again textile-like with creases and openings. The costumes become full of life when assembled by Byrne’s hands but even more so when worn. We go from elemental, primal, silent over intuitive and creative to distinctly magical and sensually stating. We grow out of nature and reflect its glory and mystery back, seemingly in all directions.

Nadine Byrne’s interdisciplinary artistic practice involves media like sound, video performance and sculpture. She graduated from the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm in 2011. Recent solo shows include Dark Tourism, Galleri Box, Gothenburg SE (2015), Hi Mom, Verket, Stockholm (2014), Stories As An Opposite To Despair, BLOKK, Bergen (2013) and Inward World, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm (2012).

She has also performed internationally with her sound projects The Magic State and Ectoplasm Girls (with her sister Tanya Byrne). Nadine Byrne recently released the critically acclaimed LP A Different Gesture under her own name with music she made for her films 2011-2012.

Tonight, Nadine Byrne will present her video works “Dream Family”, “Topografi”, “How Pure is The Journey” and “And The Sky so Present and Near”. Besides screening the films, she will talk about her works and answer questions. The evening will start at 7 pm and admission is free.

This event is presented in cooperation with Ausland art and subculture space, where Nadine Byrne and her sister Tanya Byrne aka The Ectoplasm Girls will perform one night before, on 21 January.