Cecilia Hillström Gallery, 2020

Working with an intuitive process, Lovisa Ringborg explores a range of emotions associated with an ambiguous and dreamlike state of mind. The presentation encompasses two rooms where the first part vaguely points at various rituals. In the triptych The Washing I-III, draped fabrics and anonymous limbs are soaked in water. Rituals involving water may offer a way of coping with transitions from one stage to another: a symbol of rebirth, cleansing or as a final gesture at the end of life. At the same time, the washing of feet, hands or clothes are also repetitive everyday chores.

The draped fabric in the work Ghost suggests an idea of an icon or an altar piece oddly detached in a faceless and sombre manner. As in previous works, Ringborg's references to Early Modern painting become apparent in this piece where elongated shapes evoke Late Renaissance Mannerism. On the contrary, Vanishing Act and Turning Tree express a down-to-earth feeling of immersing yourself in nature; thus, becoming an invisible part of a greater whole.

The works in the second room focus on a deeper level of consciousness and emanate from a dreamlike state of mind. In this part of the exhibition Lovisa Ringborg presents silver gelatin prints, inspired by the idea that we do not seem to experience colours in deep sleep. In the video work Liquid Moon an amorphic form is projected on a circular surface, like a slowly changing Rorschach test. Landscape and nature are recurring themes in Ringborg's works, often as an expression of ambivalent feelings. In Portal, an organised garden is surrounded by wild nature; an imaginary path leading up to a small temple with columns and pediment. Nature seems to close on the scene where the only way out is through the temple door. What is unknown and familiar are intertwined in a constant metamorphosis.

 The ungraspable rules in the Room of Shadows / Skuggrummet - the evanescent presence of clarity. As such, the exhibition is a call to the viewer to tune in to another frequency and to embrace a visual journey into the uncanny and unknown.

Helena Scragg, utställningsintendent