V1 GALLERY PROUDLY PRESENTS
The Hunger
A solo exhibition by Anika Lori
The snake, the mountain and the all-seeing eye. Classic symbols and themes populate Anika Lori’s new body of work on glass, canvas and paper. The snake has embodied many meanings throughout history, as symbol of death, fertility, fall of man, chaos, cosmic eternity, the female element, phallus and oracle. The mountain was where we sought a higher level of enlightenment. It was here Moses received the Ten Commandments, it is here some Gods live, it is on the mountain we still die to conquer and manifest human superiority. It’s on the mountain we approach the divine. It is also on the mountain Jesus is tempted by the Devil, it is here trolls, witches and the outsiders dwell, it is here Frodo must deliver the ring. We all climb mountains in various forms as part of our becoming. The mountain is sexy, Venusberg, home to the goddess of love. The all-seeing eye exists in many religions and can still be found on the American dollar bill. They are keeping an eye on us, out for us, even though it seems they do not, or do they?
In The Hunger Anika Lori examines and test metaphysical symbolism in a contemporary context.
What does these symbols and themes signify today? Can we still expand our consciousness, become wiser and gain experience. Or are we doomed (own goal) to just managing ourselves in a secular world without mysticism, religion, abstraction or metaphysical astonishment? Many of the new works are painted on glass or old windows. “Wind eye” (from old Danish). The difference between in and out, light or darkness. The window can be the symbol of vision or the ensconced petty bourgeois. In the window we catch the reflection of the world and ourselves. This duality is a recurring theme in Lori’s dance with both symbolism and materials. In the exhibition many of the symbols are repeated in different contexts, they are tested, through this repetition openings for new interpretations are revealed, to both artist and viewer. In a series of three works, a classic American cartoon mouse gives birth to a copy of itself. The mouse smiles and waves, apparently with out any sign of pain or worry, as the little copy enters this world. The repetition of us, can be worrying, in a time without time for curiosity and reflection. The Hunger seeks to stimulate our appetite for awareness.
Anika Lori (born 1975) lives and works in Copenhagen Denmark. Her insisting curiosity can be encountered on various platforms: Artist, DJ, writer, performer, cook and cultural originator.
The Hunger is Lori’s third solo exhibition with V1 Gallery.
