Collaboration of Noora Kulvik and Ana D. Lombard
It was a long conversation about the over-consumption of natural resources and the sustainability of the planet that inspired us to work together.Our society can be very individualistic, and it is a rare gift to cherish when creativity can be shared. We quickly realized that our strength lies in us having come from different artistic and creative roads with diverse skills but common interests and compatible aesthetic sensibilities.Ana was born in 1974 in Veracruz, the magical port city with an important marine history. Noora was born in 1979 in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, which is also nestled in a port and surrounded by nature. Water, nature and history: these same aspects surround us in our adopted home city of Geneva, Switzerland. Mexico and Finland are probably as far apart culturally as they are geographically distant, which we believe is part of the secret of our distinct artistic vision. We are reminded of basic human commonalities, how experiences are lived and felt similarly no matter where we are from. Our partnership is enriched by this element of stereoscopy, as we view our subjects from two very distinct angles. In our opinion this fused critical vision creates a more dynamic and stronger end result. It requires constant states of adaptability and intellectual flexibility, and an expansion of our aesthetic sensibilities in ways that would not be possible by working alone. The natural resources we photograph are also unique in shape, colour and energy. We can never predict the outcome. Just as the recognition of individuality is important for ourselves, so it is with the subjects of our work. Nearly three years into this venture, we remain deeply aware that we could not have produced our Metamorphoses, Lucidum or any other Spinning Nature series, had we not been willing to see where that original conversation could lead us. The search for aesthetic ways of representing movement remains the focus of the project. We are now studying motion through light. In 2016, the first Spinning Nature series – “Metamorphoses” – displayed a dramatic, almost theatrical atmosphere. Associating bright colours with dark and shadowy hues allowed the subject in question to stand alone in the spotlight. We wanted to respect what and whom we decided to photograph, hence we stayed open minded and flexible towards the results, discovering where the image of moving energy would lead us.In this new series we wanted to challenge ourselves by diving into light, letting the background merge into the subject. This enabled us to get a sense of transparency that was already noticeable in the Metamorphoses series and which had awakened a huge interest on our part. We started from the past, with dark backgrounds and classical colours, and now we are here in the deep seas of light, transparency, colour, and juxtapositions of moving energy in still image, light and movement. We want to awaken in people the idea of what if no change is made in our way of consuming, the things we take for granted might no longer be. Hoping that through movement and the abstraction of objects the mind can travel, giving something common a new visual. Hoping that these portraits of our natural resources awaken an emotion in the viewer.
Exhibitions of Spinning Nature by Noora Kulvik & Ana D. Lombard:
2016 December - Galerie Hermitage Geneva, Switzerland
2017 July to September - Le Bonnet Rouge Gruyere, Switzerland
October to January 2018 - Aesthetics (Private Clinic) Geneva, Switzerland
December to January 2018 - L’art dans l’R Geneva, Switzerland
2018 March – Galerie La Primaire Conches, Switzerland
May – United Nations Geneva, Switzerland
May to June – Espace art D10 at Ritz Carlton Geneva, Switzerland
October-November – Galerie Espace LGeneva, Switzerland
