SOTA
Barbara Wildenboer
Canaries in the coalmine
ErdmannContemporary & the Photographers Gallery za
Opening on Wednesday 2 May (6-8pm)
The concept of solastalgia is the premise for Barbara Wildenboer’s sixth
solo exhibition, Canaries in the Coalmine. The term was coined by
environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht in 2004 by combining the Latin word
solacium (comfort) and the Greek word algae (pain). Solastalgia is emplaced
change; it is a loss of solace and involves a sense of melancholia. It is
used to describe the emotional distress experienced when one realises that
one’s home environment has been displaced or that it is under threat. It is
a form of homesickness which one experiences while still at home.
A sense of longing has long been a recurring theme in the work of Barbara
Wildenboer. Her debut solo exhibition, Present Absence/Absent Presence in
2007 was a visual interpretation of melancholy, loss and longing. With her
latest work, Wildenboer continues her preoccupation with notions of
impermanence and disappearance, a world in which the copy replaces the real.
The exhibition, Canaries in the Coalmine presents a shift from the emphasis
on melancholy as a personal emotion to melancholy as a collective
experience. There is a sense of existential longing for a home which no
longer exists and the resultant experience of ecoparalysis, a general fear
experienced when facing existential instability or change.
Canaries in the Coalmine considers the intersection of two traditionally
unrelated fields of cultural activity, namely psychology and ecology, and
the suggestion of the existence of a causal relationship between a
psychological and environmental condition.
Exhibition closes Saturday 2 June
ERDMANNCONTEMPORARY & the Photographers Gallery za
63 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town, 8001
T. 021 422 2762 F. 021 422 3278 E. galleryinfo@mweb.co.za
www.erdmanncontemporary.co.za
