Christine Istad
FØDSELSDAG: 1963
BY: Oslo
EPOST: mail@christine-istad.no
BIO
Istad Art Photography by Janicke Iversen
Christine Istad’s repertoir can be described as multi-medialistic in the sense that painting, photography and video are used alternatively. Similarly, painterly characteristics can be found in Istad’s abstract photographs, which underlines how Istad is inspired by the different media she uses and combines them into a unified and complex whole both thematically and technically. Built up layer by layer, the pictures contain subtle motifs that are hard to define. The works pose a perceptual challenge when it comes to discerning their hidden motifs, but the observer is thereby offered different possibilities of interpretation. (Janicke Iversen)
Istad Art Photography by Sarah Walko
Christine Istad uses the camera to pull out patterns and elemental structures from her surroundings. All pieces in this exhibition are large format printed on brushed aluminum and are in-depth studies of small fragments of reality. In her work she is striving for a sense of interconnection; how things relate to each other and how they fit together. She focuses on architectural structures, however the architecture is often only sensed and she pulls out the abstraction from the concrete forms. In her process she is interested in discovering, the discovery of a motif or something surprising or noteworthy in the surroundings. Her photographs are not manipulated; they are taken as they are seen. Istad’s broader focus is on the relationship between humans and modern society. Franz Kafka wrote about what many have termed “modern man’s cosmic predicament”, the struggle of the individual within cities during his time. Istad’s work elicits a similar investigation with the themes of finding beauty and space for contemplation within alienation and searching for a place and transformation within present day architectures and super cities. She presents these slivers of space in a way that evokes an element of surprise and in doing so creates a perceptual shift ushering in a recognition that things, in fact, are not exactly as they seem and solid, stable structures can be windows into new narratives and new spaces.(Sarah Walko)
Istad Video Art bt Oda Bhar
Using a camera as a prism, Christine Istad presents us with a clear picture of everyday life. She focuses and defocuses, distorts and enlarges, lighting and framing us in unexpected ways.The result is reminiscent of a principle of cultural anthropology, where the aim is “to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar. (Oda Bhar)