The exhibition Nostalgia is highlighting the fast-paced passage of time, the great changes and developments in technology.
Time is elusive, and so, it seems, is technology. In the relentless race against time, many once-valued and revered technological marvels are slowly fading into the background, eclipsed by the brilliance of newer, faster and more efficient innovations. Only 50 years ago, people were using technology that already seems abstract to today’s younger generation. Objects that only a few decades ago were valued by society as an integral part of everyday life and even as luxury goods are now thrown into attics and scrap heaps. These relics, imbued with the essence of their time, hold stories and memories that speak of the transient nature of human progress and the bittersweet passage of time. Each object, whether a rotary dial telephone or a vinyl record player, rich with the analogue warmth of melody, is a remarkable testimony to the development of humanity. These devices were not just tools, but symbols of a way of life, of communication and entertainment.
In her Nostalgia series, the artist brings these objects back to life on canvas. These enlarged still lifes sometimes seem to have changed in shape, sometimes layered with different angles and shades, seeming to signify that our memories of these objects also remain blurred. Looking at the paintings is an opportunity to go back in time for a moment, to memories, and to examine the life of a bygone era in retrospect. Ilze Helgeland uses transparent colour schemes and abstract geometric shapes in her paintings. The objects on the canvas thus seem somewhat deceptive and elusive, just like our memories of them. In some works, the artist allows people to tell their story, and this adds a nostalgic element, and the story becomes complete.