Ditte Ejlerskov: Dream Gradients and Epitomes on Paper

20 aug 202125 sep 2021

In our Viewing room, SPECTA is happy to show Dream Gradients and Epitomes on Paper by Ditte Ejlerskov.
During the past years, Ditte Ejlerskov has been diving into the more formal aspects of her practice, focusing on brush-painted colour gradients, a contrast to previous years, where the figurative paintings have been in focus.
The gradient works seem to emit a healing and slightly vibrating vibe, like a kind of chromotherapy. The effects of Chromotherapy have been discussed as early as 1025 in the “Persian Canon of Medicine”, where it was said that the use of light – in the form of color – could secure a balance of energy in a person’s body, on all levels. Ditte Ejlerskov explores these color-effects.

The sculptural women figures in Ejlerskov’s Epitomes seem to be wrestling or engaging in some kind of battle. They represent an ongoing inner, bodily fight between different kinds of hormones. For women the oxytocin hormones are released during sex, hugs etc and for this reason oxytocin is often called the ‘love hormone’. The opposing hormone could be adrenaline – the intense hormone released to save us in a stressful situation. With an ancient marble sculpture (“The Uffizi Wrestlers”, Florence, Italy – artist unknown) being the base for her Epitomes – perfected examples of a species -, Ditte Ejlerskov depicts these figures as present in a non-physical world. Just as what they represent is not visible for the human eye. The two hormones cannot be present in the human bloodstream at the same time. It is either or. It is an unbroken battle.

Kilde: SPECTA