Unveiled 2021

“A DEADLY SLUMBER OF ALL FORCES”
by Ida Ekblad

A DEADLY SLUMBER OF ALL FORCES

Unveiled 2021
Materials Bronze, paint, stainless steel
Dimensions 7.03 m x 10.1 m x 5 m
Artist Ida Ekblad
Where Show on map

Ida Ekblad’s monumental sculpture, A DEADLY SLUMBER OF ALL FORCES, is painted by hand and the largest and most important sculptural work of the artist to date.

Ekblads sculpture is a fascinating hybrid of her artistic practices. The work is a sculptural collage made of fragments from her own paintings. Hereby, Ekblad creates a mesmerizing visual experience with dynamic, shifting perspectives, calling to mind legendary sculptures like Picasso’s Bust of Sylvette on Bleeker Street in New York, Dubuffet’s Monument with Standing Beast in Chicago or Lichtenstein's Brushstroke sculptures. Ekblad’s abstract composition and masterly use of color open for the viewer a source of unlimited possibilities to associate one's own feelings and memories with this landmark.

The mind is inhabited with trillions of pieces and here is where my source material naturally derives from or is being molded; I chop it and pitch it and move it about, turn it inside out, block print it and roll it up. Although it could be old moldy memories or references, I search for a ‘futurism’ of it all. Whether clogged up of dystopian Philip K Dick-esque nightmares or very sweet, sad post-rave after-glow introspective moods. I hope, like William Wordsworth, that my
future mind 'Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms'.
Ida Ekblad

Structurally, the model is composed of four parts that are assembled by applying the cubist method of a jigsaw-puzzle-like composition of elements that are outlined in flat surfaces, like the cut-out of a collage. Ekblad reinvigorates the technique and creates a multi-perspective synthesis of mind and memory. However, while the cubists most often de- and reconstructed a figurative element, Ekblad often uses only abstract patterns in her compositions, like the maritime blue and white Breton stripes which are unfolded like butterfly wings in the topmost element of the sculpture. This form was the main motif of a large triptych which was included in her fantastic exhibition BLOOD OPTICS at the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City last year. The central panel of this triptych depicts this same form; this work, A grain of sulphur in the blood (2018), is now held by the National Museum of Art, Design and Architecture in Oslo. In Ekblad’s sculpture, however, the blue and white form, this time resembling an inkblot of a Rorschach test, is turned on its head so that sunlight can cast its light through the cut-out areas which one can find in the upper part of this form.

Through this opening, a sharp green edge that belongs to the largest element of the sculpture, which is mostly colored in a red and white checkerboard pattern, points its head to the thin and tall third element of the sculpture; this portion is reminiscent, with its monochrome color blocks, of a Mondrian grid. On the opposite side, the fourth element gives the sculpture another perspective twist as it nearly disappears into thin, bronze-colored lines. It perfectly winds itself in a horizontal diagonal around the largest element so that its distinct main grid in dark and light green is only visible from above and below. Hence, this site-specific work for the sculpture park at Kistefos offers, with its multi-perspective and strong vitality, an ever-surprising visual journey for the viewer. Ekblad would suggest to place the piece in nature in the proximity of the new museum building The Twist. The organic form and colorful appearance of the sculpture would provide a perfect addition to the site and enliven the area all year round with the dynamic presence of this masterpiece.