DANA HOLST
Sometimes Rainbows are Black
NOVEMBER 2 - NOVEMBER 26, 2011
RECEPTION: Thur, Nov 3, 6-9pm
Edmonton artist Dana Holst explores multiple feminine themes of ego, blossoming love, anxiety and self-loathing in her solo exhibition
The installation Sometimes Rainbows are Black features a large rainbow rug in shades of mourning. Made of antique wedding dresses painted black, then cut into thin strips, the silk was entirely hooked by hand using historical methods. Monotonous, laborious, ominous the black rainbow hangs on the wall escorted by June and April, two cut out drawings of girl heads, guardians of hope on a journey to the otherworld.
Paintings in the show focus on fate as it befalls the lives of young girls caught in the transformation to womanhood. For example, in Self-Loathing an adolescent girl stands with her back to the viewer on her stained and bare mattress, silently contemplating the wallpaper pattern, emanating feelings of loneliness and despair.
Poignant and theatrical Holst’s new work looks at hope and desire as filtered through destiny and human cruelty/weakness.
A catalogue for Sometimes Rainbows are Black will be available the 1st of December 2011. Contact Dana at info@danaholst.com to request a copy.
