Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen.
Press release, Maj 2023
The exhibition “Fortryllet er øjet” by artist Moa Alskog consists of new paintings, drawings and embroidery. Works that deal with cabbage, the cabbage moth, painting, the experience of the world and the production of meaning. The enchanted eye.
Vildtvoksende kål er en hårdfør plante med seje, sennepsbitre blade og små gule blomster. Den trives på strande og kalkholdige klipper ved havet. Gennem årtusinder er planten blevet avlet på, ligesom ulven, til ukendelighed. Fra stænglerne stammer kålrabi, fra bladene grønkål, palmekål, purpurkål, fra bladknopperne rosenkål, hvidkål, rødkål, spidskål, savoykål, fra blomsterknopperne blomkål, romanesco, broccoli, fra frøene sennep, raps. Alle dele af den vilde kålplante – og alle de afgrøder, der nedstammer fra den – indeholder glukosinolater, plantens eget værn mod insekter. De smager grimt for nogle smagsløg, mens andre munde mæsker sig i dem.
Kåluglen er en natsværmer, der gemmer sig i kålen om dagen og lægger æg på bladenes undersider. Larverne gnaver vinduer i kålens labyrinter, så kålen som afgrøde må sprøjtes eller tildækkes. Kåluglens fødereservoir er de sidste to tusind år udvidet fra en begrænset population af nøjsomme planter ved Middelhavets kyst til deformt svulmende plantedele sat i velgødet jord overalt på planeten. Det er sandsynligt, at mennesker, ved at avle på kålen, utilsigtet har avlet på kåluglen. Når larverne har spist, hvad de kan, forpupper de sig i jorden og danner et sæt spættede vinger. I det spættede gemmer sig billeder. Synlige, måske, for kålugleøjne.
Amalie Smith, Foråret 2023
Moa Alskog, Meta (to change) morphosis (form), at night under the influence of unsettling dreams or wrapped up in a cocoon (detail).
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Så kallad kålfly. 2022-23. Pencil, dry pastel and oil pastel and on paper. Frame made of MDF, recycled plastic material and plexiglas. 66,5 x 49 x 3,7 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Meta (to change) morphosis (form), at night under the influence of unsettling dreams or wrapped up in a cocoon (detail).
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest, Copenhagen. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog’s practice unfolds around the human relation to nature and how it has been formed historically. Through painterly studies and a focus on the detail, the artist approaches questions such as: what the human alienation to nature means for basic societal functions like our food production? What lives has a right to live? And do we only see what we know?
The motifs - e.g. cabbage and its pest – often have a biographical connection and meaning. The fact that she grew up at an organic vegetal farm in the north of Sweden and still works there during the Summer season growing meadow flowers gives her a hands-on knowledge that goes beyond the mere representation of nature. She works in the expanded field of painting experimenting both with paint and surfaces. Painting on everything from Dibond, veggie-nets to debris.
Installation view of Fortryllet er øjet by Moa Alskog at Lagune Ouest. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Pieris Brassicae (Life is Life). 2022-23. Oil on dibond. Frame: recycled plastic material, 76,5 x 70,5 x 4,5 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Labyrinth no. 3. 2023. Aluminium foil, acrylic, sequins and beads on insect net. 48 x 38 x 2 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Så kallad kålfly. 2022-23. Pencil, dry pastel and oil pastel and on paper. Frame made of MDF, recycled plastic material and plexiglas. 66,5 x 49 x 3,7 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Kajorna. 2023. Oil paint, ball pen and marker on paper. Frame made of MDF, recycled plastic material and plexiglas. 66,5 x 49 x 3,7 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Untitled. 2023. Pencil, dry pastel and oil pastel and on paper. Frame made of MDF, recycled plastic material and plexiglas. 66,5 x 49 x 3,7 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog, Meta (to change) morphosis (form), at night under the influence of unsettling dreams or wrapped up in a cocoon. 2023. Oil on dibond. Frame made of recycled plastic material. 125 x 105 x 4,5 cm. Photo: Courtesy of the artist & Lagune Ouest.
Moa Alskog (SE, 1985) holds a MFA from The Danish Art Academy of Fine Arts (2016). Recent exhibitions include: Lagune Ouest (Cph), Market Debut (Stockholm), Alta Art Space (Malmö), Nikolaj Kunsthal (Cph), Loggia (Munich), AGA (Cph), Havebiennalen (Cph), and Elisabeth Arts Foundation (New York).
Opening: June 2, from 5-8pm (kl. 17-20).
Exhibition period: June 2 - July 1, 2023.
The exhibition is generously supported by The Danish Arts Foundation.