Who has the power to define what´s of value and what´s not, what´s real and what´s fiction? Sunderø Gallery artist Tove Kommedal researches power structures and hierarchy in her art, and examines the potential inherent in materials we rarely see as high-grade.
The main trajectory of Kommedal´s artistic practice is research based. In one of her resent projects, dEFINISJONSMAKT (The Power to Define), the object of her research is the crow. Kommedal is attracted by the myths of the bird; it is claimed that the crow alerts death and unfortunate events. She concerns herself with the symbolism attached to bird, but is equally interested in testing whether it´s possible to use the meat or feathers in a commercial way. Through videos, installations, stills and inviting professionals from relevant disciplines to discuss or even write about her topics, Kommedal expands the public’s ability to understand her topic. Thus her work has a socio-political underpinning and is often relational in tone.
Kommedal experiments with the social potential of art, whether on a material or conceptual level. This is true also of the video stills she presents at ArtLego. The photos are from a video-performance, shot at Kommedal´s favourite place by the sea. Walking barefooted on the rocky shore, the artist lets a mirror reflect sky, sea and land. The only element remaining invisible is herself. This leaves us to question what’s real and, like Alice, ponder what the world is like on the other side of a mirror’s reflection.
