FRAGMENTED TOTEMS

The exhibition Fragmented Totems april 2022, in Officinet, Danish Arts and Crafts Association welcomed you among totem poles, birch trunks, palm trees and magic animals -a universe of tufted sculptures, reliefs and tapestries in soft pastels and motifs from the world of flora and fauna.

In our modern lifestyle, where we move and settle around the globe with constant innovations in tech and frequent new relationships, we constantly change our anchor points through life, our affiliations are fleeting, and we each have many ‘tribes’ that are replaced and changed. Ekman is therefore concerned with the modern totem column and how it can create anchorage and materialize attachment. The fragmented modular totem column is a vital focal point of the exhibition. Loose parts in the form of polar bear feet, ants, cactus, sloths and others. will be put together differently by Ekman during the exhibition. Through the remodeling, she also invites the viewer to consider her own origin, identity and changing affiliation. On the floor you can sit on soft stones, where a three meter high ‘naked’ totem with wings is ready to become a totem for you inspired by the animal cards that have been presented. This and a tabula rasa textile paperwork are intended as an opportunity to stop and reflect on who we are, what binds us together and dwell on our own narratives about ourselves.