PRESENTATION: Ingela Ihrman-Frutti di Mare

Moving between performance, sculpture and video, Ingela Ihrman’s practice explores the interconnected coexistence of mundane life forms such as invasive weeds, intestinal flora, extinct amphibians and nocturnal birds. Her work nurtures empathy, tenderness and a sense of wonder for all living creatures, seeing each of them as a part of a wider ecology. Handcrafted costumes are a recurring element in her work, which comes to life in performances where the artist embodies animals and plants whilst blooming or giving birth.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Malmö Konsthall Archive

“Frutti di Mare” is the title of Ingela Ihrman’s largest exhibition  to date. With disarming humor and playfulness, Ingela Ihrman’s work tackles questions concerning the conditions of one’s own existence. By donning sculptural costumes, fabricated by herself, the artist pretends to be someone else; a giant otter giving birth, a blooming giant water lily, a fig splitting in two. At the same time, the work brings forth the imbalance and the problems that have arisen ever since humans began to distinguish themself as superior to nature. The exhibition includes sculpture, installation, video and performance, and consist of around twenty works, mainly from the last ten years when Ihrman has lived in Malmö. During the exhibition period, the artist will activate some of the sculptures and meet the audience as a toad, a clam or a pinecone, characters that behave unexpectedly in the exhibition space – as they emit fragrance, secrete nectar, give birth, feed or reproduce. Social relations, scientific facts and human experiences serve as the starting point for Ihrman’s exploration of the human being and the complex relationship with itself and other living beings in our modern society. By wearing sculptural costumes, she explores her own body and the possibilities and limitations of the self. Her works connect to feminist performance tradition, but equally relevant is the search for meaning and community through rituals and ceremonies. The handmade and unwieldy costumes become an extra layer of flesh and skin that encapsulates and hides one’s own being in favor of another. The workmanship in the quirky costumes is precise and the materials are simple, found or recycled. The sculpture group “A Great Seaweed Day”, which was shown in the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2019, is on view in architect Klas Anselm’s light filled kunsthalle. A collection of large seaweed sculptures in saturated colors connects the flora of the sea to the flora of the human stomach and intestinal system. “First Came The Landscape” (2022), rests directly on the expansive spruce floor of the exhibition space – a giant skeleton laid out of logs, branches and sticks from an alder tree that lived and died in one of Malmö’s green areas. After the end of the exhibition, the wood is returned to the cyclic processes of nature by placing the work on the ground of Guldängen playground. The exhibition also includes the theater performance “Who Are You?” which will be performed on several occasions during a week in November 2023. Ingela Ihrman has created the script, costumes and scenography in close collaboration with director and playwright Maja Salomonsson. Six actors from Ögonblicksteatern in Umeå portray characters from the kingdom of plants and animals, and discuss with the audience what it means to be someone or something; What does it mean to play a role, and who decides who you are?

Photo: Ingela Ihrman, The Giant Knotweed Panflute Ensemble, 2015, HD­video, Installation view Malmö Konsthall 2023, Photo: Olof Nimar, Courtesy konstnären

Info: Curator: Mats Stjernstedt, Malmö Konsthall, S:t Johannesgatan 7, Malmö, Sweden, Duration: 29/9/2023-14/1/2024, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00-15:00, https://malmokonsthall.se/