The Materiality of a Natural Disaster
Hellströms graduation project The Materiality of a Natural Disaster is a project around a geo-specific, human-inflicted narrative transferred onto local matter. The project takes place a year after the Tohoku Daiichi power plant disaster in Japan, and is a collaboration with local rice farmer Naoto Matsumura, who stayed in the evacuated area.
From soil from his unusable rice fields, five muddy vessels were created. They lead one’s thoughts to the mythological, and construct allegories to the devastating event. Although being loaded, the vessels did not contain radiation, since the soil was dug up from 40 cm below ground. A 12 minute documentary portraying Matsumura’s everyday life, accompanies the vessels in the exhibition.
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About
Hilda Hellström
Hilda Hellström’s sculptural practice is built around combining old craft methods with contemporary materials and techniques. Trained in both art and object design, she looks at the symbolic qualities of craft and cultural objects and how they relate to time, value and heritage. Often with surreal undertones, she conveys natural- and cultural histories alongside personal experiences by interweaving fabulation and fabrication, shape and image making. Hellström currently lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark.