Emotional Metabolism 1991 – 2023 is the third episode of Golden Shower’s format and is a solo exhibition by the London-based artist India Nielsen (1991).
The solo show originates from Metabolism (1899), a painting by Edvard Munch and depicts, through a psychosomatic process, an emotional and subconscious journey through virtual language.
“I grew up in the early 2000s listening to a lot of electronic and hip-hop music that used remixing and sampling techniques, so when I started making my own imagery it made sense to apply this approach to my paintings. I often pick artists that represent a quality I want my paintings to have and remix them together. I like the play of different periods flattening together to make something that feels new or otherworldly while having certain footholds anchoring it to something very familiar and banal.”
Rooted in painting, India Nielsen’s works are like repositories in which she transpires her inner life, where fragments of memories and emotions are compressed together into compositions that on the face of it are often as perplexing as they are strangely familiar to view.
For the artist, growing up alongside the internet felt like living inside of an interactive cubist painting, where a multitude of viewpoints, time periods and vastly different subject matter are flattened and pressed right up against the viewer’s immediate experience. Her artworks encapsulate a similar perspective and sense of duality: the feeling of intense, almost invasive intimacy, but also of alienation, as though the work holds a meaning or energy of its own that cannot be fully unpicked.
Instilled with buoyancy and nostalgia, Nielsen’s vibrant imagery is filled with animistic and mystical figures, appropriated from pop culture, art historical books or transcribed from memory. There’s a tangible sense of fondness that materialises with these characters she creates, communicating an emotional bond or interaction and highlighting how her canvases are deeply connected to her personal experiences as she continues to explore and unfold her mental architecture through paint.
The show is visible until June 25th. We look forward to seeing you!
Villa Cramer – Golab Agency
via Fatebenefratelli 5, Milano
from Monday to Friday, 10 am | 6 pm
Curator-led tours only by appointment
ph. credits Crates Design / Matteo De Nando
