Samuel Hahnemann’s Bakery
Performance. 2016
With a rolling pin it is possible to roll a thin sheet of clay for a sculpture, but usually it is used to assault biscuit dough. Similarly to the craze for alternative medicine, which in Latvia would be considered a conservative choice (grandma is seeing the witch-doctor, mom - an acupuncturist, but the daughter is ordering a basket of organic food from an unknown farm as opposed to buying bananas at the local supermarket), contemporary society regards a woman’s passion for baking more highly than fiddling with art. A daughter says to her mother that we are what we eat, and this time I will agree, because she has been my best friend since the third grade. The biscuits baked in various shapes resemble tiny sculptures. The ingredients give rise to suspicion, but – quoting information available from various “safe” web sources – they are of great value for the body and soul. Audiences, too, are given the chance to ingest these substances – each is given a biscuit wrapped in a sheet of newspaper of unknown origin. The writing on this sheet might convince someone of the necessity of this snack, but most likely it will merely confuse the innocent gourmand.
Artist's Bio:
Ieva Kraule (1987) currently is studying at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Using various materials such as ceramics, stone or metal, she creates sculptural objects that are accompanied with short stories, where absurd adventures of fictitious characters intertwine with misinterpreted historical facts. In her works the artist includes references to the architecture of the Soviet period, crafts and fetishism. Among Kraule’s most important solo shows are such projects as The person you are trying to reach is not available (2016), together with Aidan Koch, at Hester in New York and Qu’est-ce que ça peut faire tout ça (2015), together with Kaspars Groševs, at Shanaynay in Paris. Kraule is the co-founder of and curator at the gallery Four To Seven (427) in Riga.