Look into my Ice
Public Art Installation Ashes of Ice by Marta Djourina at the Ice Age Centre, Äksi
Official program of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024
Selected through an international open call, the Berlin based Bulgarian artist Marta Djourina creates a monumental installation focussing on the disappearance of polar and glacier ice. Djourinas pioneering experimental practice in the field of photography and her sensitivity in grasping ephemeral moments of living entities merge impressively in the three part installation. The starting point for the aesthetic concept is rooted in a performative approach: In the glazing sun in front of the Ice Age Centre Djourina captures the process of melting ice through direct exposure on photosensitive paper and film. By using a magnifying glass Djourina literally draws the burning power of the sun into the paper. The results of the experiment inspired the following photographic developing process in its appearance. The wide range of colour and form have been preserved in the installation. Djourina adds another narrative level by integrating lost outlines of glacier and polar ice expansion in her concept. Ashes of Ice hereby acts as an umbrella project connecting all three Capitals of Culture, Bodø/ Norway and Bad Ischl/ Austria, within the artistic concept – regions which follow the disappearance of ice at a disastrous speed.
Marta Djourinas installation offers through her elegant and sensitive aesthetics a capturing approach to the topic. Her unique technique and methods document our presence, open up minds to the near future by setting a memorial for the already lost.
The unveiling of the wall piece will be the first in a series of events such as exhibitions, performances, and workshops within the project ‘Look into my Ice organised by the MTÜ Eesti-Saksa Kunstikoostöö (Association for Estonian-German cultural and art exchange) in cooperation with roam projects e.V. and curated by Maria Helen Känd between 2023 and 2024. ‘Look into my Ice’ is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.
About Marta Djourina
Marta Djourina explores in her artistic work the nature of light through photographic experiments. She investigates the cause and effect of light phenomena on photosensitive paper, incorporating characteristics of several genres: By means of various light sources, a performative movement, an object or a combination of both effects is traced, whereby a painterly gesture is captured in the process of analogue photography.
Individual series of works consists of intimate small formats or monumental unique rolls of paper up to 6 meters high. Some projects focus on the physicality of traces of light, while others deal with the visualization and fixation of something ephemeral. In Djourina’s practice, the hidden is given a photographic expression, the ephemeral is secured and the potential of light as a medium achieves visibility.
Marta Djourina (born in Sofia) studied at the UDK (Berlin University of the Arts) and at the Glasgow School of Art. Her works have been shown in a number of exhibitions and published internationally, most recently at the Berlinische Galerie – Museum of Modern Art, Sofia Arsenal – Museum of contemporary Art, FeldbuschWiesnerRudolph (Berlin) , 3:e Väningen (Gothenburg), Mark Müller (Zurich), CAN (Neuchâtel).
She has received the BAZA Award for Contemporary Art (2021), the Eberhard-Roters grant (Preußische Seehandlung Foundation, awarded at the Berlinische Galerie, 2020), the AArtist in residence at the Federal Foreign Office (2022), the Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt (2022) and the Marianne Brandt Prize for Photography (2022). In March 2023 Djourina attended a 2-month residency at RU – Residency Unlimited in New York, as a part of the BAZA Award 2021. In September 2023 she will take part at an artist residency at Cité des arts internationales.
About Ice Age Centre
Ice Age Centre is a thrilling educational theme park located in Southern Estonia. Its exhibitions provide a broad overview of the origins of ice ages and their effects on the Earth, Estonia, and Vooremaa. It introduces the development of Estonian nature and human settlement after the last ice age and the causes and research on climate change. Its location next to a beautiful lake symbolises both the extraordinary beauty of Estonian nature and the challenges posed by climate change-related heat waves affecting the region’s ecosystem.
Website of Ice Age Centre
About Look into my Ice
Look into my Ice focuses on the experience of cross-border collectivism to address both the climate crisis and societal cohesion. This initiative brings international artists together to gain new perspectives by merging art and science inviting a broad audience to participate in a diverse, low-threshold program consisting of a group exhibition, artist in residencies, workshops and a public art installation. Look into my Ice creates an artistic and scientific dialogue and hereby acts as an eye opener on how each individual can contribute to the well-being of our much needed international community and to our shared planet.
„Look into my Ice“ is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.
