Egg (A Flightless Dream) | Arteles Journal

During my one month period at Arteles, I valued more time in connections with other residents and experienced creativity through being in the moments. 

At the last week of the residency, I discovered a huge nest in the back forest built by past residents - Agnieszka Foltyn and Per Stian Monsås titled ‘Nest, 2019’. When I saw the nest my immediate thought was wanting to create giant eggs to put into the empty nest. As someone who had always admired birds’ ability to soar in the sky, I envisioned myself as part of the imagery. I saw the eggs as visual metaphors of anticipation and fear between hope and the unknown.  Inspired by Angel’s Egg, a Japanese art film directed by Mamoru Oshii in 1985 that uses very minimal dialogues and many surrealistic symbolism, theme, metaphor as its visual storytelling. I pictured myself as the guardian of the egg like the little girl in the film, who protects the egg by hiding underneath her dress wherever she wandered. 

To take off clothes while balancing on the pile of branches was definitely tricky and once in a life time experience. And then to crouch down and to find a suitable position in the pile of branches to look like I was sitting around the eggs. I see ants crawling around the branches, my feet tip toeing on a balancing branch and trying hard not to fall on the stick-outs. I positioned myself in ways like a mother figure to these superficial eggs I have created, channeling the imagery of my unidentified hope and dreams as I cherish the eggs. I think the symbolism of the eggs in Herman Hesse’e words never left my mind. Eggs as worlds itself, and the embodiment of life and death. 

I learned something very different by allowing myself to procrastinate and socialize. I rediscovered the experience of art in play, in being with my surrounding, and what it feels to be in a spontaneous flow. Special thanks to Brad for blowing up the egg balloons, Jac for assisting the process, and Therese and Ditte as photographers to document this spontaneous idea.