Victoria Ahrens
Vestiges of the Unearthed
20 June to 20 July 2023
Studio open to visitors Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Victoria will hold an open studio on Saturday 1 July from 12 noon to 4 pm. All Welcome! 

Where film and photography have always dealt with the tension between the haptic surface and the optic illusion, so the recorded marks of deep time reside in both the crevices and fissures of ecological landscapes, where particles are held in suspension for millions of years, and resilient species of plants feather the surface. It is in these places, often abandoned, marginal, rural or post-industrial, that the folds and layers of the Anthropocene can be recognised, brought to the surface by erosion, ruin or residues that reveal their human impact. My work is concerned with the site of ecological and geological remoteness, in places where the solitude and quietness of the landscape can reveal or develop a new way of looking and listening. These landscapes are contingent on political, cultural, geological and ecological experiences, and are places in which I develop non-toxic photographic plates, sound recordings and experimental films that explore our encounter with that which is beyond the immediately visible. As part of this residency, I am looking to explore the coastlines and trails to the ruins of the megalithic dolmens, to make an experimental film piece, photographic images and sound recordings that capture our encounter with these sacred spaces, while collecting rock pigments and grasses to create a second skin, or forensic pellicule on the surface of the image. Immersing myself in the landscape, I will draw on the bioluminescence of Lough Hyne, which speaks of the invisible made visible, to explore the traces we leave behind, and our estrangement from the natural world. Growing up in Argentina, in landscapes that are vast and unfathomable, with ancestors who came over from Ireland at the turn of the 19th century, I am looking to retrace that journey back, to a small extent, by communing with these landscapes, and translate this experience using durational film practices.

I will be offering a talk, open studios and a workshop to discuss the themes of the project

Victoria is a multi-disciplinary artist from Argentina living and working in London. She completed her PHD in Photography at Birkbeck College, University of London in 2017, and holds a BA and MA in Fine Art from UAL. Recent solo shows include: On the Slide, at Impact 12, Bristol; Absorb at Peltz Gallery, London; Assemblage 14, Julio Gallery, Paris with Laure Tiberghien; Parts Unknown at Enterart, Denmark. She has won numerous awards including the Celeste Photography Prize, The Clifford Chance Print Prize and the Installation Award at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair. Her work is held in public and private collections in China, France, the UK, Italy and Denmark.

Social Media @victoria.ahrens

www.victoriaahrens.com

Support from University of the Arts London

WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council in making these residencies possible .