(In English below)
Dansk: Tankerne bagom Hybrid-serien
Denne serie er inspireret af Hybrid-begrebet inden for kulturforståelse, som betyder, at “mennesket” er et “blandet væsen”. Hybrid-begrebet forklarer, at det er mangelfuldt at forstå det kulturelle menneske som “et enten, eller” (kulturelt og nationalt). Man kan som menneske være skabt af forskellige og "blandede" kulturer. Oplevelsen af at være et menneske, blandet af flere elementer, kan eksempelvis komme af globalisering, diverse livsoplevelser og livshistorier, vi gennem livet tager med os i bagagen, forskellige miljøer og meget mere. Som mennesker er vi komplekse og ikke kun skabt af én ting, én historie og én kultur. Hvad vi er skabt af, kan ikke forklares som - og består ikke blot af én ting.
Hvem vi er, er præget af mange kulturelle elementer og fænomener, såsom;
• Vores forældres historie og de kulturer, de er vokset op med, og som har præget vores opdragelse
• Kulturen, kulturerne og subkulturerne i det samfund, vi lever i, som har skabt et indtryk i os
• vores nationalit(eter), som har været med til at danne os i en globaliseret verden, der skaber netværk og fællesskab på tværs af lande og kontinenter - internationalt og nationalt
• vores personlige interesser i litteratur, sport, musik, politik, kunst og andre kulturelle interesser.
• Og sidst men ikke mindst de livsoplevelser og livshistorier, der med tiden er blevet en del af os, en del af vores personlige som private fortælling.
• Nogle har forældre med forskellige nationaliteter, andre har venner med forskellige kulturelle baggrunde, måske befinder vi os selv et sted midtimellem den ene (nationalitet/kultur) og den anden - i både krop og sind.
• Uanset hvad, er vi som mennesker i en globaliseret verden komplekse kulturelle væsener. Vi er gennem livet blevet “blandet” af forskellige kulturer, som har præget vores livsoplevelser, livshistorie og identitet.
Med serien “Hybrid”, har jeg et håb om at kunne åbne op for et funderende “rum”, der kan muliggøre en omfavnelse af vores mange forskellige karaktertræk og personligheder; sider af os selv, vi gennem livet har udviklet, samt en anerkendelse af den “blandethed”, der gør os til dét unikke menneske, vi hver især er. Derfor vil man med det skarpe øje kunne se tre ansigter i hvert linoleumstryk, der udtrykker forskellige sider af ét menneske; to ansigter i profil, som tilsammen skaber ét helt ansigt.
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English: Personal thoughts about the Hybrid-series
“HYBRID” - a Lino Print Series.
The series is inspired by the concept of “Hybrid” within Cultural Studies, and this is one way to understand the idea and perspective on the concept of Hybrid. The concept of hybrid explains that it does not make sense to look at a cultural person as "an either, or". As humans, we are complex. What we are and what made us can not be found in only one thing. Who we are is characterized by many cultural elements, experiences and life stories that have become part of us over time and a part of our identity and narrative. With the series “Hybrid” I hope to create a mindful “space”, in which it is possible to to embrace all our different character traits and personalities that we have developed through our lives, and also to embrace the “hybridity/mixture” that has made us the unique human being, each of us are.
The first hybrid-portrait in my Series ‘Hybrid’ came to life as a sketch in 2019. Every time, I’ve been working with my ‘Hybrid’ Series since then, I’ve been working with the importancy of understanding (not only theoretically but) emotionally, the value of truly appreciating and acknowledging every aspect of a human being. What I see in the hybrid-faces every time is a human being trying to embrace and value the existential and contrasting emotions and aspects of a itself; all the difficult and destructive feelings in which thanatos (the instinct of death) is rooted, and on the other side the upbeat, uplifting and passionated feelings in which Eros (love) and libido as a force in life is found.
The hybrid-faces shows me a contrast of emotions that is rooted in feelings of conflicts; A dilemma of cultural and national existential feelings seeking the truth and asking the questions; Who am I? What is my identity? What is my nationality? Who am I as a cultural being? What is my dreams in and hopes for life? Are my dreams and passion deep-rooted in who and what I am or are they just a product of culture and time? How do I continue life and manifest these dreams without knowing the truth about myself? Should I find the truth by choosing; either I’m this or I’m that? Through the portraits I always find the answer in the Cultural Studies’ understanding of ‘hybridity’. A person is a result of every aspects of its life and everything life has given, both the difficult emotions deep-rooted in the cultural dilemma of being one or another.
We’re passionated beings, striving to manifest our hopes and dreams (who and what we are) no matter how society in general wants to describe us. Our life-story and cultural life-experiences of being both one and another (culturally) has ‘shaped’ us to be who we are and what we are through existential crises, hopes and dreams. We are not an ‘either or’. We are both. We are hybrid.