I would describe Karolina Franka Foldager’s workshop as an hour-long meditative practice. The studio was set up with cushions on the floor arranged in a circle, and a desk with paper and pencils, where Karolina sat next to it.
At the beginning of the workshop, Karolina guided the participants through the experiment she had planned, while the sound of cold wind played softly in the background. First, we broke into small groups of two or three and took turns drawing a line, then responding to that line without speaking. After this exercise, we entered Karolina’s imagination, where we were told we were on a bus travelling through an icy biome. The bus eventually crashed, and we were left stranded. We used the provided old-fashioned listing paper to tear and tape it onto the wall, ultimately creating a landscape. From there, we took turns as a group, with each individual going up to the paper landscape to make their own marking. Eventually, the whole group was asked to draw on the landscape using pencils and coloured pencils. Lastly, we took turns leaving a mark that symbolised our names.
The recurring silence, combined with the background noise throughout the workshop, made the activities feel meditative. It created a sense of calmness, which I thought was unique. However, I wished the workshop could have been longer, as we only spent about an hour on the activities in total. Perhaps an insight into Karolina’s art practice and examples of her work would have been interesting for participants, myself included, and would have provided a helpful context for understanding the tasks given in the workshop.
“H is a ruin
O is a grape and Z is an old man’s spine
B is boobs and Ø is a dying rose”
Join us next Monday 18 November for Karoline Franka Foldager’s @karofranka debut lecture and drawing workshop, POWER OF WORDS/PROBLEM OF UNIVERSALS.
“We are going to be drawing and collaging with words. Drawing language and speaking drawings is the goal.”
Karoline recently opened her first solo show ‘Kittens’ at Café des Glaces in Tonnerre (FR) from which these images are taken. She will also be showing new work this Friday in Zürich, Switzerland as part of ‘Studio Report II: Freestyle’ at Atelier Bella. We are very excited to host Karoline at the close of her roundabout European tour – join us!
Workshop: POWER OF WORDS
Karoline Franka Foldager
Mon, 18 Nov, 6.30-8.30pm, £10
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCUTXpYP7V1/?img_index=1
