Simone Löhndorf

Simone Löhndorf
Lund, Sweden

STATEMENT

It was an aha-moment for me, when I realized, that there actually is a common thread weaving through the different aspects of my life. This thread is to do with meaning. Both as a cognitive linguist and collage artist I’m concerned with meaning making, meaning interpretation, and meaning in context. In my work I often use imagery from the first half of the twentieth century. I feel drawn to the aesthetics of this period and like to combine these pictures with more contemporary imagery. The reason for this is both my interest in history and my fascination with contrasts of all kinds. I like to work with historical material, but instead of romanticizing it, or falling into clichés, I want to evoke critical thinking around issues such as privilege and prejudice, community and inclusion, and immigration and integration.

BIO

I’m a Swedish/German collage artist (autodidact) and cognitive linguist concerned with meaning making, both from the perspective of the artist and the viewer, the speaker and the hearer. Most things that meet our eyes and ears are conventionalized messages, which do not require much conscious effort on our part to interpret. Taking concepts out of their conventional context and intentionally or unintentionally create unexpected meanings, to draw attention to unconventional, yet highly meaningful content, I believe, is one of the purposes of Art. Collage seems to be especially well suited for this purpose, since concepts can be reinforced by the choice of texture, origin, and time period when the material was created. Collage making is a highly intuitive process for me, where I play around with juxtaposing and contrasting elements. Sometimes the meanings created are funny, sometimes serious, not seldom they are political. More and more often, they are found on the streets, as I am a member of the #kolajstreetkrewe.

ARTIST CONTACT

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IMAGES