Melanie Garland (1988)
Chile – Germany based

SECTION
No Borders
RESIDENCY (2018)
Latitudo – Art Projects
PARTNER
ZK/U – Centre for Art and Urbanistics

Melanie Garland reflected on the condition of limbo that migrants find themselves in. In her work a recurring element is water, the water of the sea and the water of the river that divides the city, as well as water that cradles those in limbo, seeking fortune. Her work, Liminality, which is marked by ephemeral elements like paper or light that interpret the fragility of the migrant condition, compares two different migrations: the historical migration of Italians toward America (especially Latin America), and the more controversial current migration of those on the shores of the Mediterranean.



ARTWORK

LIMINAL SPACE IN ROME, 2018

Mixed media Installation (sound and tempera on paper)

Melanie Garland is a Chilean artist based in Berlin. She is interested in the relationship between art, maps, travel, migration, cultural and architectural heritage and visual anthropology. During her residency in Rome, she worked with a refugee camp, reflecting on liminality and the condition of millions of migrants. Through a long study on migratory processes and birds’ migration she arrived to a paper and sound installation. The artist focused her attention on a careful documentation of the migratory process that took place after the Second World War from Italy to South America. She reflected on memories of migrants from the past and connected them to the present, reminding us that migration is a journey that has always represented a civil and moral drama, a sad ritual that has been unavoidable for many people. In this installation the constant sound of the metronome is related to the migrant feeling of living in a liminal space. The paper installation in a brackish green colour recalls the river Tiber, depicting also the idea of continuous “Limbo” feeling.

 


VENUE

Kaunas Picture Gallery


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