This Saturday, Think Round Gallery presents Shapeshifters: Myth & Magic of the North.
Reception March 11, 2023
4-6pm
2140 Bush Street, Suite 1
San Francisco, CA
Statement
Transformation, both unexpected and inexplicable, is the essence of magic. Like the mythologies of all cultures, the Nordic cultures are rich with this kind of surprise, from the creation of the cosmos—the clash of fire and ice forming the giant Ymir, whose body parts are then transmuted into the stuff of this world—to the gender-bending Loki, whose antics confounded even the gods. These tales, less familiar to most of us than the Greek myths, stimulate the imagination and challenge the spirit.
The artists of Nordic 5 Arts share heritage and/or an interest in the nature and culture of the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Together we have created this exhibit to express our personal representations of the ways in which the folklore and mythologies of the Nordic countries have affected our lives. As art-makers, metaphor and metamorphosis are the tools of our trade. They impel a drive to deepen our consciousness of the worlds within and around us. We tease out threads of ancient lore still resonant for us and weave them into plausible alternatives. Societal and planetary upheaval are looming; perhaps the wisdom of the past can help reshape our thought patterns in ingenious and fruitful ways.
“Shapeshifters are beings who metaphorically change into a new shape, form or even desire.
Belonging; our inner-self and the outer world have shapeshifting moments. When society
changes, we change with it to fit for our own survival. We are redefining ourselves constantly, with social media, round-the-clock news, how we “should” look, think, feel, behave and live out our lives.
Images like 1617 #2 and #46 define some of these shapeshifting moments where I have felt the need of change within myself.”
– Pernilla
