Visual Artist
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About E. A Tofte
Artist Statement
As a visual artist, I work across disciplines. Often using nature as my medium, the observation of terrain over a long period of time allows me to examine the measurements and the proximity to social and environmental challenges. It is an open dialogue between nature and human, perceptions of time and identity, reconstruction of memory.
As an artist, I see myself as a storyteller whose personal space is a part of a larger, universal identity. I invite the viewer in, to engage with my work, to start a dialogue. On the one hand it is a feminist approach, but, on the other, I also believe in the power of connections and the interconnectedness of this world.
Concepts of my art are often born out of serendipitous encounters between ourselves, living beings and nature. I like to create multi-dimensional installations, reflecting on today's socio-cultural environment. Often letting nature and outside space dictate, I explore connections through psychological distancing.
Projecting on past and individual experiences which collectively transform into a new shared space, projecting something ancient and something deeply rooted within us — a sense of belonging, a survival instinct — and an emotional connection to my heritage, my birthplace.
The Trees
September 2023
September 2023
October 2023
November 2023
December 2023
January 2024
The Cloth
Fibre
Fiber as one of the oldest parts of human civilization is pushing me into new territories, exploring socio-cultural landscape.
I used a discarded yarn, once handled together with the previous generations to measure the distances between the trees. The fiber became a tool of reclamation of the territory, adjusting the displacement of my own identity. Asking how did I get here?
Fabric
Fabric not about aesthetics only, is a medium that carries deep cultural, historical, and personal significance and allows to explore complex themes in new ways. Projecting on past experiences, reflecting on the impermanence of human nature. Fabric by its nature is prone, over time it can fade, fray and disintegrate, much like human life. This burial cloth I made for my mother whilst creating the project Are We Disposable, illuminates the use of fabric around the trees, its physical deterioration mirrors the inevitability of aging and mortality of humans. It also questions the actions of today, the longevity and wellbeing collectively. How are we related to its consumption?
Reshaping
Our vision which essentially remains old, shapes the transformation through our expectations closely related to where we are coming from, what we have experienced and how we have translated them. By using discarded materials, closely connected to human footprint on a larger scale, globally, I am opening a dialogue. Asking what can we do collectively?
Nature as Canvas
Through the exploration of man-made fibers and the ones made by synthetic processes, I project on the very importance of our existence. How individual decisions impact us collectively.
Transformation
Not intentionally trying to provoke a negative reaction, I am appreciating the effect the wrapping of the trees brought. Alongside with the curiosity and wonder it projected. Reflecting on uncertainty, an undercurrent of unsettling emotions in our interconnected terrain.
?
Are
Disposable
Are
Questions our impact, our role and values. How does it affect the causes around us?
We
Disposable
Are
Is "We" a space, a local environment, familiar surroundings, economic environment or is "We" a global awareness?
Disposable
Disposable
Disposable
An identity. What are the responsibilities in our socio-cultural landscape?
Connection
Nature
The surrounding nature creating a space of eternity, birds flying by, air so fresh, it seems to hold its breath. Awakening emotion through a distant sound of the ancient forest. The wonder between closeness and distance. Curiosity and vulnerability, hidden whispers of the wind, revealing the weathered surface of the cloth, tousling through the fabric, the opening of the inner circle, blurring the lines with the world.
Human
The end of something significant in our lives can often leave us feeling disconnected and lost, but death can equally symolise transformation and change. most things in life are already here, we are just learning to notice them through the contradicting dialogues within us as we pass through these external experiences. Reviving the ambiguity of the larger scale, reflecting on protection and wonder, the mystery that lies beneath, the fragility of life and every living "thing". Are we consigned to the book of history or to the recycling bin?
Non-human
The intricate connections between human and non-human forms. The balancing act between nature, human and technology.