exploring the explored with Alicia Kopf's Àrticantàrtic

Alicia Kopf (b. 1982, Spain) is a mid-career contemporary visual artist whose work explores individual issues reflected in generational concerns. Her background in Comparative Literature and Fine Arts fostered in her an ability to bring introspection to a diverse range of subjects, making for thought-provoking, visually intriguing installations. She views image as metaphor, and believes that visual practices and language are highly complementary forms of research. Combining the intuitive powers of image with the linear, logical manner of thought provided by writing, she unfolds these metaphors to create new realities in her work.

In her research/installation series Àrticantàrtic (2013-15), comprising of two installations Seal Sounds Under the Floor (2013), Diary of Conquests (2014), and a book entitled Brother in Ice (p. 2018), Kopf analyses the coined “heroic age” of polar explorers ranging from the late 19th to the early 20th century. She drew inspiration from a range of sources for the exploration, but the initial seed came from her own anxieties of living as a young graduate during the 2008 recession which manifested in her dreams of ice. This led her to research polar expeditions, and she was quickly inspired by Australian photographer Frank Hurley’s images of the ship Endurance trapped in ice. According to Kopf, the images had a masculine and metaphysical quality and she wanted to appropriate these epic adventures in a contemporary context. Using ice as the metaphor in this series, Kopf presents it as a physically imposing obstacle and an analogy for the internal struggles we face in our relationships both with ourselves and others. She aimed to lend the prestige of these epic adventures to “normal people” struggling with everyday hardships as they learn how to deal with “their ice.”

In the first installation project from Àrticantàrtic, entitled Seal Sounds Under the Floor (2013) Kopf displays images from the early polar explorations on stark white walls next to her drawings and analytical writings. These expeditions coincided with the inauguration of cinema, providing Kopf with arresting first hand images of the conquests which when placed in context with her writing, offered a new perspective on the epic adventures of these individuals. Through this exhibition she updates the myth of heroic exploration, bringing to our attention the realities of these expeditions which have been skewed in the grand reiterations of the event as it is passed down through history. In the simple curation of these exhibitions, which is typical of her work, she mounts the first-hand images on clean, white walls flanked by her literary content. This effortlessly brings new meaning to the images and invites the viewer to receive the epic tales in a new light. They are encouraged to question their view of these men as heroes and recognise that the problems faced on these adventures were not dissimilar to current generational concerns.

With this installation Kopf uses the tales of historical heroes to bring to our attention specifically to issues of obsession, resistance and individual conquest in modern society. Through simple language and use of juxtaposition she condenses the abundance of her research into a humble exhibition. For example, a film of a large, brutish ship plowing effortlessly through ice simply reads “without opponents.” This is a simple image yet in the context of her research is powerfully demonstrative of the themes of conquest and perseverance. She also writes oxymoronic phrases combining geographical landmarks from her research of the expeditions with profoundly human-experienced emotions or states directly on the wall. These links appropriate the experiences of the individual heroes into the contemporary context of broader generational concerns, for example “Boredom Vulgaris,” and “Failure Rocks.” She has a beautiful way of presenting information very directly and has developed a unique new hybrid of visual art and literature.

Kopf’s work is highly relevant to today’s society, as she points out that we see the personal afflictions, or even success, of others, as something that does not impact or concern us. In what feels like an increasingly individualised society wherein we are more often encouraged to compare and measure against one-another, it is easy to become obsessed with our own story of greatness and fail to recognise where we can relate to one another. With Àrticantàrtic and her humbly curated exhibitions, Kopf effortlessly draws comparison between the epic polar expeditions of the past and modern life. She is able to demonstrate that although each story is different to the individual, we can relate to and seek comfort from one another in knowing that at the root of every experience, our feelings are and arguably always have been the same.