Helga Theilgaard - Artist Talk
This is an Artist Talk by Helga Theilgaard. Her exhibition called "I'm here now" can be found in the events under the same title.
It is possible to see the exhibition text here below:
Dansk tekst nedenfor
Helga Theilgaard's “I’m here now” consists of a photobook and an exhibition which will be shown in Denmark and internationally.
"With this work I wish to study the complexities and challenges I have lived through. The camera is an incredible instrument for revealing the human soul – the way it is reflected in a person’s face or in a landscape. When I first started out as a photographer, it felt like an explosion, and many of my photographs manifested themselves as sombre isolation and withdrawal from the world.
I delved into this emptiness and explored the darkness – not in the hope of understanding it, but in an attempt to keep my footing as the world inside me and around me was falling to pieces. But there were also times when I was unable to take photos. When I just let time pass. As a child I felt a close connection to nature. Every morning when I woke up, I would open the window and look out across the Limfjord. There was a forest at the end of our garden. When I walked between the trees, I crossed a threshold, where I could disappear and live in a world of my own. I often played on my own. But I never felt alone.
The soft breath of the forest spoke to me. I believe there is a boundary between our known reality and dreams. Between the day and the night exists a space where you can find elements that unfold into both worlds. These are the spaces I seek out in my photographs. Spaces that come to represent a state of mind or a memory of what once was. This is the reason why I have worked with nature as a basic material in my photographs. These photographs become a kind of memory."
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Helga Theilgaards udstilling ”I ́m here now” består af en fotobog og en udstilling, der skal vises i Danmark og internationalt.
"Med dette værk ønsker jeg at undersøgende kompleksiteter og udfordringer, jeg har været igennem. Kameraet er et utroligt instrument til at registrere menneskesjælen. Hvordan den afspejler sig i et menneskes ansigt eller i et landskab. For mig var det som en eksplosion, da jeg begyndte at fotografere, og mange af billederne manifesterede sig i sort ensomhed og afstandstagen fra verden.
Jeg dykkede ned i tomrummet og udforskede mørket -ikke i håbet om at forstå, men i et forsøg på at bevare mit grundfæste, samtidig med at verden inden i og omkring mig smuldrede. Men der var også perioder, hvor jeg ikke var i stand til at fotografere. Hvor jeg lod tiden gå. Da jeg var barn, var jeg tæt forbundet med naturen. Hver morgen, når jeg vågnede, åbnede jeg vinduet og kiggede ud over Limfjorden. I bunden af vores have var der en skov. Når jeg gik ind mellem træerne, gik jeg over en tærskel, hvor jeg kunne forsvinde og være i min egen verden. Jeg var ofte alene, når jeg legede. Men jeg følte mig aldrig alene. Det stille åndedræt fra skoven talte til mig.
Jeg tror, der er en grænse mellem vores givne virkelighed og drømme. Mellem dag og nat støder du på et rum, hvor du kan finde elementer, der åbner sig mellem vores verdener. Det er de steder, jeg søger i mine billeder. Steder, der bliver et billede på en tilstand eller en erindring på det, der var. Derfor har jeg arbejdet med naturen, som et grundmateriale i mine billeder. Disse billeder kommer til at fungere som en slags hukommelse."
