In Nina Canell’s work, sculptures are not closed forms, but experimental arrangements in a state of flux. As a viewer, you are allowed to enter her artworks – and indeed at Canell’s current exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie, you are actively encouraged to do so. For her installation “Muscle Memory”, the Swedish artist has laid out seven tonnes of shells from the North Sea on the museum floor. The further you walk into the pile, the smaller and smaller the shells become until they break up and dissolve into fine sand. But it’s not only their shape that evolves: the colors and sounds you experience as you walk through the exhibition change too. The idea of there being an inherent poetry in process is one that runs through Canell’s entire practice. Calcite, a mineral that originates from smashed shells, also features in her video work “Energy Budget” – this time as a material component of concrete.
The film, co-produced by Canell and artist Robin Watkins, shows the concrete facades of Hong Kong skyscrapers, some of which feature gigantic holes in their structure. According to the teachings of feng shui, the empty spaces are supposed to provide a clear flight path between the sky and the sea for mythical dragons. How bodies move in the world, the obstacles they overcome and the things that emerge and disappear are just some of the questions which Canell’s artworks seek to address.
Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Robin Watkins & Nick Ash
Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr.124–128, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Nina Canell: Tectonic Tender, until 22.08.2022, Wed–Mon 10–18h, admission €10 (€6 concessions)
@berlinischegalerie
