Ferdinand Evaldsson
ferdinand.evaldsson[at]gmail.com home Ferdinand Evaldsson creates wood reliefs of different sizes that draw their symbolism from mental images and their palette from the tradition of icon painting. An icon painter by training, Evaldsson works with wood, metal, pigment and gelatine. It is the presence of the materials and the process of engaging with them that gives meaning to the work. Evaldsson uses his materials as a means to explore memories, both private and shared. The manual craft is for him a way to relive things he has forgotten but also to forget. It is his way of working with and understanding memory, trauma and history. Evaldsson paints his wood reliefs in the same way icons are painted. The surface consists of up to twenty layers painted with pigment and gelatine and finished with saliva. The use of his own secretion establishes a physical connection to the work. Using spit to treat the surface of a work is an ancient method, and one that is more practical than mystical, as the enzymes in saliva break down the outer layer of gelatine. The surface becomes hard and cold to the touch, not unlike stone. Evaldsson is interested in the memories that surround us. His works are a means for exploring the significance of memory and remembering. He is interested in the physical memory of the body, how memories are transmitted between individuals and how they finally end up in material form. From the press relaease for the show FERDINAND EVALDSSON PAULINE FRANSSON MARCUS MATT 20.4.–21.5.2023 Galerie Anhava
Ferdinand Evaldsson creates wood reliefs of different sizes that draw their symbolism from mental images and their palette from the tradition of icon painting. An icon painter by training, Evaldsson works with wood, metal, pigment and gelatine. It is the presence of the materials and the process of engaging with them that gives meaning to the work. Evaldsson uses his materials as a means to explore memories, both private and shared. The manual craft is for him a way to relive things he has forgotten but also to forget. It is his way of working with and understanding memory, trauma and history. Evaldsson paints his wood reliefs in the same way icons are painted. The surface consists of up to twenty layers painted with pigment and gelatine and finished with saliva. The use of his own secretion establishes a physical connection to the work. Using spit to treat the surface of a work is an ancient method, and one that is more practical than mystical, as the enzymes in saliva break down the outer layer of gelatine. The surface becomes hard and cold to the touch, not unlike stone. Evaldsson is interested in the memories that surround us. His works are a means for exploring the significance of memory and remembering. He is interested in the physical memory of the body, how memories are transmitted between individuals and how they finally end up in material form. From the press relaease for the show FERDINAND EVALDSSON PAULINE FRANSSON MARCUS MATT 20.4.–21.5.2023 Galerie Anhava