Sif Itona Westerberg – Immemorial

Drawing on Greek mythology and medieval iconography, Sif Itona's sculptures in aerated concrete thematise modern man's impact on nature and the looming climate catastrophe.

Sif Itona Westerberg (born 1985) graduated as a sculptor from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2014, and this autumn ARoS presents the largest exhibition to date of the young contemporary artist. Her works often draw on references from the carved picture friezes of antiquity or the colourful iconography of the Middle Ages, from which she draws much of her inspiration.

Her sculptural works mimic an idiom recognised in historical marble sculptures, but they are made in aerated concrete, a material primarily used in the construction industry. The mix between the industrial material and the refined craftsmanship creates a unique contrast that is both sensitive and monumental.

The exhibition unfolds in three acts in a complete sculptural still theatre. The first act, House of Dionysus, presents works that all relate to the Greek mythological figure Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy. The works appeal to human beings to transcend themselves and their humanity in the hope that this dissolution can have a transformative and constructive potential.

The second act of the exhibition is a brand new series of works, Sawn Song, which is being exhibited for the first time at ARoS and is based on the Greek myth of Phaethon. As the son of Helios, Faeton's rightful title as god was questioned, so he asked to borrow his father's celestial vessel. However, he didn't have the skills to control it, and so he sets the sky on fire. In this series of works, Sif Itona Westerberg describes Faeton's accident as history's first man-made climate disaster. In the series, she has taken Faeton out of the narrative so that the audience can put themselves in his shoes and reflect on the current climate crisis. Instead, the sculptures show the lament of the elements, for example when the earth is seen with scorched eyebrows and the nymphs gasping for breath while the trees are on fire.

The third and final act of the exhibition consists of works from the Fountain series, which was shown at Tranen in Hellerup in 2019. The works are based on hybrid creatures from the European Middle Ages combined with modern gene editing technology. The technology makes it possible to cross species and mix tissue and DNA in a way previously only dreamed of. Here too, Sif Itona Westerberg looks both back and forward in time as she connects the Middle Ages with modern science to explore the potential of hybridisation.

Sif Itona Westerberg's art seeks answers to some of the questions that have followed mankind throughout its development. For example, she is interested in why some myths are still highly relevant, even though they were written in a time that is very different from today. Her themes are also often based on a desire to understand man's position in the ecosystem we are part of and how we evolve with or against natural development.

Statens Kunstfond