Camilla Reyman
Pan
31 March - 29 April 2017


Camilla Reyman (1981) works within the fields of abstract painting, sculpture and installation art driven by a curiosity of the possible agency of matter. The idea that materials and objects can potentially be perceived as entities with a radical non-human consciousness has long preoccupied Reyman, and therefore functions as inspiration for this exhibition.

 The images and sculptures presented in the exhibition are all characterised by the fact that the materials they are made of are embedded in ecology and nature. Among several sculptural objects sits an agave plant. Its leaves are covered in scar tissue patterns, carved by Reyman. On the walls, there are varnished panels in clusters of four. The panels vary from minimalistic and monochrome works to expressive abstractions and simple geometric statements. Underneath the many layers of transparent and glossy epoxy varnish are organic materials such as burnt bone and earth pigments. The strong epoxy varnish conserves Reyman’s compositions of porous materials, and thus functions as a sort of industrial amber, which encases and perpetuates a perishable and uncontrollable material. 

Prior to the exhibition, Reyman resided for two months with the Kuna people in Panama where she experienced their vibrant and dynamic relationship with the surrounding ecosystem. She saw how this close relationship was included in their everyday customs where ecology, materiality and spirituality were inextricably linked. The small nuchus figures made of clay, found by the river or in the jungle, were used to ward off evil spirits, as was the red pigment from the achiote tree which was smeared on cheeks during ceremonies or used as seasoning in food. The women embroidered geometric shapes on their clothes since geometry was considered a language of gods. 

PAN is not the end of but rather the preliminary culmination of an artistic study of materiality and consciousness, which is also manifested in Reyman’s concurrent exhibition Entering Into Relation With An Object: An Intimate Connection Vol. 2 at artistrun exhibition place C4 Projects in Copenhagen.