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Nina Backman
May, 2011
Nina Backman’s art isn’t based on any one way of producing art, or one style, nor is it confined to one medium or scale.
Although her exhibitions tend to consist of a range of subjects and several series of works – each with many different levels of meaning – it’s best to approach her art as a unified installation or even as a single work.
In her current hasan&partners installation Backman as usual wastes no time in the shallow end of the pool, stating rather bluntly that her intent is to “describe humankind’s efforts to surpass the gods”.
Nina writes:
“I always start with a clear beginning. In Artificial Paradise" my primary artwork is “Adam & Eve" (the two earthen human figures on the floor near the kitchen area). After conceiving this central piece, I introduce a number of related works designed to dialogue with the core one.
I create my art simply "by walking" – that is, I create it directly from life around me. So naturally my ideas often come many sources, and yet they all originate from the same journey and thus have interconnections built directly into them.
The irony of course is that so often in life, and in the art that comes from it, things don't make sense. And yet that in many ways is the beauty of it, for me at least, as it forces one to question not just the findings – but oneself most of all.
I feel in many ways that I live in rather comfortable surroundings, where I encircle myself with various "artificial safety nets". Yet I know there is a riot outside.
Throughout all of my exhibitions so far it has been my paintings that have provided the continuity. In Artificial Paradise my paintings perhaps suggest glorified ghosts from some long lost era and culture. Including references to the past is important in my work since, clearly, the past is always present in the future, and has many stories to tell.“