The exhibition title Law of Falling Bodies alludes to both the law of gravity and the figures in the paintings. They are in the middle of a movement, isolated in a balancing act, or already fallen. Painted with watercolor on large papers, mainly in light pink, yellow and blue, they do not necessarily interact with the implied darkness.

In her art, Maria Nordin focuses on how experiences are expressed through the human body or how bodily experiences can be shaped. The new works deal mainly with the movement of bodies. She has taken inspiration from theory of modern dance, where fall and gravity have been deliberately used, unlike the classical ballet which has strived to overcome gravity.

The fall, which both symbolically and literally, causes us to lose our footing is also associated with decay. Physical expressions such as being out of balance and losing stability serve as metaphors for our psychological or emotional state.

The exposed vulnerability becomes an expression of decadence and failure, something that is consolidated in a culture where lightness, mobility and stability are desired. With titles such as Tipping Point and Decline, the figures can be regarded as unstable bodies but also as symbols of the social and political. The decay which in its worst form turns into dystopia.

But where the weight and the fall are negative forces that preferably should be counteracted, it is at the same time inevitable to fall. We are built for movement, and gravity and the gravitational pull of the earth are also the prerequisite for existence. To fall can be to give up part of our persistent need of control, to fall can be an act of resistance.

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“Law of Falling Bodies” // Maria Nordin // Galleri Magnus Karlsson // Stockholm, Sweden // On view through 20 May 2021 //

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