Breadcrumb
“Ice Memory” solo exhibition by Jaanika Peerna
28.06.2021
“Ice Memory”
by Jaanika Peerna
July 2 - August 29, 2021
Opening July 2 5.30-7PM
GALLERY 222, Hurleyville NY
sculptural drawing, ice, prints, soundscape, video, wall sculpture
Ice Memory offers an opportunity to witness an evolution of the work, not unlike the changes we witness in our natural landscapes, encouraging us to meditate on the way human actions alter the environment that surrounds us. The title refers to an ongoing climate research project where core samples of the world’s vanishing glaciers are being archived in long preserved frozen cylinders to retain a tangible record of past climate changes. Jaanika Peerna’s work is an artistic reflection on this same quest.
This solo exhibition consists of a large room-size drawing made out of flexible plastic in the shape of a curved, wide slide hung from the ceiling, reaching all the way to the floor. Through the release of water, the drawing itself will be slowly be transformed over the course of the exhibition.
The installation will also include a sound scape, composed out of visitor-created audio answers to the following question; “What would you do if you were handed the last piece of natural ice on Earth?” As the exhibit progresses, this piece will proceed ever closer to completion, as additional audio answers to the question get collected over the exhibition’s run. The Artist would like to thank everyone who sent their audio answers.
Additional works include digital photos, video documentation of #GlacierElegy Brooklyn performance and wall work Thawing.
The exhibition also features small edition prints of Jaanika’s Wind Edge series drawings. All sales of the prints will benefit Riverkeeper.
Riverkeeper protects and restores the Hudson River from source to sea and safeguards drinking water supplies, through advocacy rooted in community partnerships, science and law.
Jaanika Peerna is an Estonian-born artist and educator living and working in New York since 1998. Her work encompasses drawing, installation, and performance, often dealing with the theme of transitions in light, air, water and other natural phenomena. For her #GlacierElegy performances she often involves the audience in participatory reflection on the current climate meltdown. Her art practice stems from the corporeal experience of our existence and reaches towards enhanced awareness of the fragility, interconnectedness and wonder of all life.
She has exhibited her work and performed extensively in the entire New York metropolitan area as well as in Berlin, Paris, Tallinn, Barcelona, Venice, Moscow, Dubai, Sydney, Canberra, Montreal, and Cologne. Her work is in numerous private collections in the USA and Europe and is part of the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris. Her performance Glacier Elegy was recently acquired by the Glyn Vivian Museum in the UK. Her work is represented by JHB Gallery and ARC Fine Art in the US, HAUS in Estonia and IdeelART globally. She was awarded the FID Grand Prize in 2016 for her work in drawing, and she was a teaching artist at the Dia Art Foundation for many years.
In Fall 2021 a new monograph Glacier Elegies will be published by Terra Nova Press.
More on Jaanika’s art practice https://www.jaanikapeerna.net/ #GlacierElegy
