In this second iteration of Sites of Exhaust, artists MALFLOR and Nancy Julia Hicks present sculptures, videos, and printmaking-based works to investigate the parallels between the environment, human-made structures, and gender non-conforming bodies.
kropp / body / cuerpo, 2023 - ongoing
This body of work was created in Kjerringøy, Norway, on the land where my grandfather was born. Since birth, I have visited these mountains, forests, and waters he grew up in. I have sunk deep down in this earth, bathed in her seas, and warmed our house with birch logs in the wood stove.
Kjerringøy has witnessed my baptism(s) and my rebirth.
In the video “KROPP / VANN (BODY / WATER),” I lay nude in the creek that runs through my family’s land and for the first time, I allow the mountainous landscape to see me and hold me in my truth. In the subsequent series of body-earthworks, I consider how the land itself is a body. These earthworks, made of found and collected natural materials on site, are left to the tides, winds, and animals.
The earth is a body in transition.
Kjerringøy has witnessed my baptism(s) and my rebirth.
In the video “KROPP / VANN (BODY / WATER),” I lay nude in the creek that runs through my family’s land and for the first time, I allow the mountainous landscape to see me and hold me in my truth. In the subsequent series of body-earthworks, I consider how the land itself is a body. These earthworks, made of found and collected natural materials on site, are left to the tides, winds, and animals.
The earth is a body in transition.
sites of exhaust: MALFLOR + NANCY JULIA HICKS
2023
THE REGIS CENTER FOR ART
MINNEAPOLIS MN
2023
THE REGIS CENTER FOR ART
MINNEAPOLIS MN
The Department of Art at the University of Minnesota presents Sites of Exhaust, the Regis Center for Art (RCA) Emerging Artist Program exhibition featuring the work of MALFLOR and Nancy Julia Hicks. These artists unite their individual practices encompassing sculpture, installation, and printmaking to investigate the parallels between the environment, built structures and trans bodies.
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW
This performance for video is a playful exploration of patterns and forms in nature and the use of dirt as a cleansing medium.
HULDRA
2022
THE MEDIUM
SPRINGDALE, AR
2022
THE MEDIUM
SPRINGDALE, AR
Huldra is a seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore. The name is derived from a root meaning “covered” or “secret.” There are many places throughout Norway that are named after these “hidden folk.” She is described as a beautiful white woman with blonde hair, sometimes wearing a flower crown, and has the distinctive non-human features of a cow’s tail and a hollowed-out back, resembling that of a hollowed-out tree. The legend goes that, if approached kindly, she is known to offer words of wisdom that may help a lost traveler find their way or may aid in a fisherman’s daily catch. She is also known to lure men into the woods in her attempts to find a husband, for when she is able to successfully marry a man in a church, she loses her tail and her beauty while gaining the strength of ten men. In some stories where a man is unwilling to marry her, or disrespects her by reacting negatively to her tail, she forces them to dance to their death, or she simply kills them. The way Hulder (pluarl) react to humans is directly related to how they are treated. The moral of the story can be translated into what is known here in the US as the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated.
I found myself drawn to this mythological creature, as someone who is often visually misinterpreted. Revealing myself to be queer and transgender in any space, especially within the state of Arkansas, often feels like a life-or-death situation. As a first-generation Mexican-Norwegian-American, I see an inherent connectivity between humanity through storytelling, for there are so many stories around the world from all cultures that parallel that of the Huldra. This cross-cultural lore reveals that it is human to desire to be seen in your truth and to be accepted and loved.
The projection is made from videos I took on my family’s ancestral lands in Northern Norway during my time there this past summer. The audio is a mixture of edited sound from the original videos with that of a slowed down and manipulated rendition by Fuglafólk (Andras Ellendersen and Thiago Ody) of the oldest known Nordic folkloric song, “Drømde mik en drøm i nat,” which translates to “I dreamt a dream last night.” The original lyrics were written in runes and have been transcribed as “Drømde mik en drøm i nat um silki ok ærlik pæl.” There are a number of interpretations, the most commonly accepted being the following:
I dreamt a dream last night of silk and fine fur
I dreamt a dream last night of justice and fair play
I dreamt a dream last night of equality and honest measure
I found myself drawn to this mythological creature, as someone who is often visually misinterpreted. Revealing myself to be queer and transgender in any space, especially within the state of Arkansas, often feels like a life-or-death situation. As a first-generation Mexican-Norwegian-American, I see an inherent connectivity between humanity through storytelling, for there are so many stories around the world from all cultures that parallel that of the Huldra. This cross-cultural lore reveals that it is human to desire to be seen in your truth and to be accepted and loved.
The projection is made from videos I took on my family’s ancestral lands in Northern Norway during my time there this past summer. The audio is a mixture of edited sound from the original videos with that of a slowed down and manipulated rendition by Fuglafólk (Andras Ellendersen and Thiago Ody) of the oldest known Nordic folkloric song, “Drømde mik en drøm i nat,” which translates to “I dreamt a dream last night.” The original lyrics were written in runes and have been transcribed as “Drømde mik en drøm i nat um silki ok ærlik pæl.” There are a number of interpretations, the most commonly accepted being the following:
I dreamt a dream last night of silk and fine fur
I dreamt a dream last night of justice and fair play
I dreamt a dream last night of equality and honest measure