Emma Bernhard

Nordenhake Mexico presents A ballet, An army, the first solo exhibition in Mexico City of the swedish artist Emma Bernhard, in which she presents a new body of works, that includes mixed media paintings and sculptures. The exhibition will simultaneously represent the artists first exhibition outside of Europe and the first show in Nordenhake Mexico’s new location at Monterrey #65, Roma. Emma Bernhard (Stockholm, 1981) likes to challenge the societal idea of value, bestowing value on objects and recycled materials not conventionally considered so by contextualizing them, giving them a story and, in a certain sense, a purpose. This contextualization allows her work to hold meaning in their own right but makes their existence contingent on that of the others. She often personifies her works, describing these inanimate objects as things in need of care, in an expression of empathy for cast aside materials.

A ballet.

An army.

A ballet.

An ensemble.

Together they dance. They are not real dancers. They struggle. Not made of the

finest materials they have to fake their way through the movements. They are stiff

and more often than not they end up failing.

I collect materials. Often things that other ś don’t want. Sometimes I find them

and sometimes I buy them if they look lonely. I put the sculptures together like

collages, they find themselves a story, a context and maybe a purpose. Nothing

grand, one ś purpose most often isn t́ .

These ones are dancers. They dance together in uncoordinated moves. In silence.

The wall pieces are not ready yet, waiting for their turn. It takes time to become a

dancer. Yet everyone can dance.

The sculptures are made of plaster, felt, fat, nylon tubes. Nothing special. Faking

the special. But not being special doesn t́ mean anything.

They are not ready to perform. But one never is.

— Nordenhake