Pg Art Gallery is pleased to present Elsa Ers’ second solo exhibition “In Absentia” between 22 May and 20 June 2018. Known for her paintings and collages where she explores cultural identity, belonging and displacement through mixed techniques, Ers introduces in this exhibition her acrylic works on canvas focusing on nature-mortes or the death of nature.
Human beings who are –but not always have been- at the top of the food chain have always imagined themselves as the rightful owners of the natural world. In fact they had needed to dethrone another mammal before declaring themselves the kings of the jungle. Mythology and religion have supported these facts and fed their egos. They believe the natural world with its flora and fauna is just there to serve them, and to entertain them. Ers started realizing this idiosyncrasy, when she experienced motherhood for the first time. While she was going through this experience of the most powerful instincts, she got to notice the shift humans experience. She observed that as humans grow and declare themselves the infallible masters of the natural world, they turn their backs on their instincts and true nature. They gain a lot of knowledge but forget a lot of their truth. Thrown into this deep sea of thoughts and questions, Ers staged a series of nature-mortes in which nature feels truly dead, not present, and not a part of the equation. Using the gems of wildlife such as the goldfish or the jeweled beetle, she aimed to create displays reminiscent of museum menageries where nature is not present; there to be beautiful, and to be appreciated solely for the purpose of entertainment, but completely devoid of life.
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Elsa Ers was born in 1982 in Istanbul. After having completed her education in Parsons School of Design in Paris and Sorbonne IV, she went on to work in Istanbul as a textiles designer. Taking the rich cultural elements of textile design and its significance for the history of female artists as a starting point, she went on to produce paintings and collages deeply intertwined with gender identity and what it means to be human and female in the Middle East. She currently resides in Tel Aviv with her family, where she is nourished by the multiculturalism and the constant conflict while exploring multiple media.
