Bold Ambiguity
âI always look to what painters do,â says Torbjørn Rødland (b. 1970), a Norwegian photographer internationally recognised for his surreal, psychologically charged images. Some of his most memorable pieces â shown in recent solo shows across Milan, London and New York â depict strange and uncanny scenes: syrup dripping from closed eyes; feet covered in sticky substances; oranges adorned with human hair. These unsettling compositions are rich in sensory information, dealing with themes of the body, consumption and artificiality.
Featured above is a shot from
More Than Tongue Can Tell, the new show at Zurichâs Galerie Eva Presenhuber. A woman leans over the hood of a Mercedes, her face mirrored in the carâs glossy finish. She licks the star-shaped ornament, gazing downwards at her own reflection. This image might bring the Greek myth of Narcissus to mind: the story of a man so handsome he fell in love with his own image in a body of water. Indeed, Rødland’s oevure is full of symbolism, and Galerie Eva Presenhuber is keen to focus on its connection to art history.