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Deborah
Aschheim
Elena Bajo
David Bowie
Monika Goetz
Elin Hansdottir
Marla Hlady
Emily Jacir
John Noestheden
Fahamu Pecou
Tomo Savic-Gecan
Katerina Seda
Emna Zghal
Elin Hansdottir (selected by Ashkan
Sahihi), Money Tree
2005, 1/2-inch thick acrylic
59 x 42 inches
ABOUT THE WORK
...I turned slightly and saw what was perhaps my favourite piece –
the money tree – white trunk* and transparent branches (simple but
again very much dependent on perspective), with branches holding a few
monetary leaves. I approached the piece and suddenly thought that there
seemed to be very little money attached to the branches – had some
notes perhaps been stolen? (shock and discomfort) – then it occurred
to me that maybe one was supposed to donate funds by depositing it on
the tree (more like a coathanger than a tree perhaps!) – which idea
provoked perhaps more discomfort! And then suddenly it struck me again
that this simple piece had done it again – drawn me into a dialogue
– both a dialogue with the piece of art and a dialogue with myself
about what my role was supposed to be. It occurred to me what value this
seemingly simple work in fact had – but then after all it was a
money tree – and is not the value of art in making us question ourselves
and our surroundings rather than simply inspecting the price tag that
it bears...?
–Matthew Whelpton
*The tree shown at Elin's 2004 solo exhibition at the Arnesinga Art
Museum, Hveragerdi, Iceland is slightly different from the version produced
for The One, which is all plexiglas, and part of a larger "forest"
installation comprising thirteen identical trees.
BIO/STATEMENT
Born 1980 in Reykjavík. Lives and works in Berlin. Elín
Hansdóttir’s installations create situations in which the
viewer is drawn into a physical dialogue with the work encouraging the
possibility to re-evaluate one’s relation to space and place. The
apparent simplicity of form belies the complexity of her installations,
where interaction carries more importance than interpretation.
