Some Background
Sonja Hinrichsen has transformed art as we know it by replacing the canvas with snow. She is interested in “the intersection between place – city or nature – and human perception and utilization thereof, throughout history.” By examining urban and natural environments through extensive exploration and research, she is able to create pieces that speak to the history of the locations themselves.
Hinrichsen said she feels the responsibility as an artist to address subjects society often neglects or denies, including adverse environmental impacts. She aims to engage her audiences intellectually by provoking thought through her work.
Unlike most artists, Hinrichsen is not interested in creating lasting works. Instead, her work is documented solely in videography, photography, and in the memories of her audiences. Hinrichsen believes “our planet is over-saturated with man-made products” and her work is extremely temporary in its design.
She tends to choose environments that seem inhospitable, such as high mountains and snow/ice landscapes, which is evident in her snow drawings. Furthermore, she researches mythology and local legends for information on how these places were inhabited in the past. She says that “despite an overall documentary character, these projects have a very personal focus, as they draw from [her] experiences and perceptions.”
Snow Drawings
Hinrichsen’s most notable pieces come from a series called Snow Drawings, in which she draws large designs “into pristine snow surfaces by walking lines with snowshoes.” Throughout this project, she has collaborated with community volunteers as well as done some solo pieces. In working with the community, she is able to create vast pieces over large areas of land “while at the same time offering possibility for community to participate in the making of art during exciting outdoor experiences in exhilarating landscapes.”
As an environmentalist, she makes sure her pieces leave no lasting impact on the environment, and her main goal is to “arouse appreciation and consciousness for the natural world.” Snow Drawings offer an alternative outdoor winter experience for volunteers, and she hopes their involvement will show how a natural landscape can become a piece of art.
Because her work is so temporary, she takes aerial documentation immediately after each piece is completed. Not only does she have to account for the snow canvas to behave differently based on thickness and quality of the snow, but she also has an artistic role in the photography of her pieces. She works with lighting and angles in ways that uniquely showcase the message she is trying to get across.
“Modern society is becoming increasingly disconnected from nature. I believe, however, that for a successful future of humanity it is essential that we re-gain a greater awareness of our planet’s life and tune ourselves in with the natural world, understand it better and take better stewardship thereof.”
Here is a video of one of her Snow Drawings:
Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8wOfYFfuSw
http://www.sonja-hinrichsen.com
This is amazing! It's incredible that she is able to get the community so involved in artwork and that she's not interested in making lasting pieces. I would love to see more artists incorporating nature and even communities in their work, since most people don't often get the opportunity to create.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting, it requires her to create on the ground with the snow as well as in the sky with how her work is photographed. The meticulousness of this project and its short-lived presence make her work valuable and very unique.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! It's interesting that she focuses on appreciation of the natural world. It is so important to remind ourselves how beautiful and giving the earth is especially in a time when we are not treating it well. It is great that she spreads this awareness through art!
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