ELASTIC Gallery

Stories are among the most powerful things in existence and the collective memory is an extension of and similar to the personal. Memories exist in buildings, objects and oral transmissions, the grief of remembering or not remembering is great. Memories are also found in a craft, in a tradition passed down from master to apprentice through generations. Ferdinand Evaldsson like to combine different ways of working with memory – it becomes a mythology of the psyche, where the figures are as interesting in themselves as why and how they emerge. How the body physically remembers and sees the memory getting transferred between people and finally into a material. Evaldssons reliefs are painted, in the same way as icons are painted, many layers on top of one another, between every four layers the surface is sanded and lastly he polish the relief with his own saliva. Using one's own body creates an additional physical connection to the work. It's an old method, more practical than mystical, the enzymes in the saliva break down the outermost layer of gelatin. This gives the reliefs a character similar to stone but which can be painted. It is cold to the touch.