Maya Eizin Öijer
07 May - 14 Jun 2009
MAYA EIZIN ÖIJER
May 7 - June 14, 2009
Andréhn-Schiptjenko is proud to present Maya Eizin Öijer’s exhibition Lost Moments. The opening takes place on Thursday May 7th, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Maya Eizin Öijer has without doubt played an important role on the Swedish art scene since the 1970ies. By reusing images from art history and popular culture, her work is characterized by a rich imagery filled with symbols, where the subconscious and associative play a major role. She is represented at several museums and cultural institutions and has also been a professor at The Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm.
Her retrospective exhibition “Maya Eizin Öijer 1980-2004” attracted much attention when it recently was shown at five museums and art centres in Sweden.
In her new exhibition at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Maya Eizin Öijer will show images of kittens. For a long time, she has documented the cats she has owned and a selection from her rich and extensive collection of images make up the exhibition. With these images, she wants to recapture the motif from the realm of stereotype and prejudice. The photos focus on a particular side of the cats’ being, i.e. their exposure, defencelessness and vulnerability.
In some of the motifs, the atmosphere of the Japanese phenomenon Hana-Mi, the time when people gather to celebrate the short flowering of the cherry tree, can be perceived. In a similar way, Maya Eizin Öijer sees the kittens as an expression of the magic of fleeting moments – a bitter sweet feeling. From that perspective, the photos can be looked upon as images of impermanence - a theme of vanitas, which is so frequent in the works of Maya Eizin Öijer. When we look at these pictures, we project our own longing to receive and give affection and love in a world which we feel is increasingly hostile and unsafe. The images are a defense speech for the forces within us that act for solidarity and survival.
May 7 - June 14, 2009
Andréhn-Schiptjenko is proud to present Maya Eizin Öijer’s exhibition Lost Moments. The opening takes place on Thursday May 7th, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Maya Eizin Öijer has without doubt played an important role on the Swedish art scene since the 1970ies. By reusing images from art history and popular culture, her work is characterized by a rich imagery filled with symbols, where the subconscious and associative play a major role. She is represented at several museums and cultural institutions and has also been a professor at The Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm.
Her retrospective exhibition “Maya Eizin Öijer 1980-2004” attracted much attention when it recently was shown at five museums and art centres in Sweden.
In her new exhibition at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Maya Eizin Öijer will show images of kittens. For a long time, she has documented the cats she has owned and a selection from her rich and extensive collection of images make up the exhibition. With these images, she wants to recapture the motif from the realm of stereotype and prejudice. The photos focus on a particular side of the cats’ being, i.e. their exposure, defencelessness and vulnerability.
In some of the motifs, the atmosphere of the Japanese phenomenon Hana-Mi, the time when people gather to celebrate the short flowering of the cherry tree, can be perceived. In a similar way, Maya Eizin Öijer sees the kittens as an expression of the magic of fleeting moments – a bitter sweet feeling. From that perspective, the photos can be looked upon as images of impermanence - a theme of vanitas, which is so frequent in the works of Maya Eizin Öijer. When we look at these pictures, we project our own longing to receive and give affection and love in a world which we feel is increasingly hostile and unsafe. The images are a defense speech for the forces within us that act for solidarity and survival.