Elena Renée Pereira, Netherlands / Germany / India, 16.11.1985 // visual / conceptual artist / performance / artistic researcher
From anatomical examinations to imprints that are formed into material studies through progression of performative nature or emanated forms.
Into the intimate nature of the domestic and its daily rituals in behavior and object. The process questions; the organic and the so-called man made nature in an examination. Material processes and experiments that capture and preserve materiality from natural composites to man made natural leftovers by cultivation in species, patterns and revealing alchemical narratives for imprint and form. By reinventing the toolset for preservation that extracts Flora and the landscapes materiality.Visual conceptual works are produced between India and the Netherlands/ Germany where experimentation in deconstruction and reconstruction in various landscape studies resides.
Having been imprinted with cross countries references, nature has been pollinated in the interactions with the landscapes surrounding us in pigments and its poetic translations.
- / info / publication / press / email studio@elenapereira.com
2023-24 - Threats to Flora: An Ornamental Extinction Risk in fragile endangered habitats, archived Almanacs from flora and fauna, residue in beeswax and extracts, before we forget (ongoing project 23-24), IN, DE, NL
2023- intimite details in between 11 framed narratives, Venkatappa Art Gallery, Show, Bangalore India
2022- - The imprinted handkerchiefs and tissues are crated in an ongoing archive where residues of materials are encapsulated in resins with pigments and milk. An insight into Immigrating Species between the so called Green Borders . One talks about grass always being greener 'for' the Other side then 'on'. A romanticized idea of immigration we seem to acknowledge. Green borders between countries are of the wildest conditions; in the effect of a chromostereopsis of two projected curtains; if stared at, red one sees green and vice versa. CKP Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath Bangalore LINK
2021-22 toxicity in textile and other material waste regarding color and application- from the processed to the
raw matters ungoing commissioned2020 groups show India Art fair~ Imprint after and per formative nature interrogation meal India Art Fair, Pulp society,
New Delhi, Handkerchiefs and Imprint Archive.= flowerlab LINK2019 Auspicious one- objects in narrative group show- Das leben ist eine Kartoffel-Bahnhof52 gallery,curated by
Elisabeth Schink, Kleve/Cologne,DE LINK2018 Flower-readings/ flower lab, per formative nature, powercutted -Bangalore IN I LINK
Do not Disappear on me, hallucinating curtains, groupshow in between spaces at Walkin Studio- Bangalore, IN LINK2017 Beeswax in Shade - Flora and beeswax. Sensuous Scents ~new material discoveries Enkaustikos- Design trajectories- Temporary Art Centre- Dutch design week, Eindhoven,NL LINK
2016 a dying performance, per formative nature, In Between Spaces, groupshow at Walkin Studio- Bangalore, IN
Hammock,Cloud and Big appetite, Love> Sensorium-group show, Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Goa IN LINK
2015 Leftovers love and Other Stories, Solo Show 13 works, Lakeeren gallery, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala ,Bombay IN LINK LINKLINK
2014 Soundscales Installation made from waste bottles for Levi's wasteless campaign, curated by Counterculture, Bangalore IN LINK
2013 The Nature of the Unexpected,- Khoj, Art and fashion Residency group show, curated by Pooja Sood, New Delhi IN LINK LINK
The process laboratory and it's products-Biodesign; On the Cross-Pollination of Nature,
Science and Creativity group show,In bloom - ,curated by William Myers, NAI Rotterdam NL LINKThe Reflectives, 13 Objects in reflection, solo show opening Art Bengaluru UB City-Sublime Galleria, Bangalore IN LINK
The Flowershop, project of a shop - lamps, jewellery and objects made in residency, Artshop,curated by Frank Schlichteman, Himachal Pradesh India IN LINK
Pillow tears, As tears go by, groupshow, Cokkie Snoei Gallery, curated by Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam NL LINKLINK
2012 In Bloom, wallpapers, chandeliers, fabrics, beds and carpet Witte Dame, graduation show Design Academy Eindhoven, NL
In Bloom, groupshow, Nominated with 'in bloom' methodology for material prize 2012, fabrics and wallpapers, doen-materiaalprijs, Van Abbe Museum Eindhoven NL LINK2011 Picturesque landscapes, groupshow- design academy eindhoven/ Raadhuis, Marres-house for contemporary culture
curation Maastricht NL LINKdie Flugmachine, Objects talking in Fabric, gallery B52 bahnhof, curated by Elisabeth Schink, Cologne DE LINK
2010 Art or Fashion?!, soloshow, mixed media, n the labour of embelishments; analogue photographic evidence in sequence with sequences on kurtas; heavily embelished in labour as it comes to in the fashion industry in sweatshops. 1shantiroad, curated by Suresh Jayaram, Bangalore LINK
2008 work in progress collection of fabric research in clothes, Kersvers,Centraal Museum Utrecht NL LINK
die unendliche /work in progress, Young Talent, sustainable fashion future, Modefabriek Amsterdam Rai NL LINK LINK
Lichting Amsterdam Fashion week selection collection 2008, Westergastfabriek, Amsterdam NL LINK LINK
Academic/work;
2010-2012 Master Contextual design - Design Academy Eindhoven NL
2004-2008 Bachelor Fashion & Textile Design, School of Arts Utrecht NL
2009-2010 Visual Communication, Srishti School of Art, Design and technology IN
2006-2007 Textile Design, Srishti School of Art, Design and technology IN2014-present Part-time Faculty at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and technology since 2014 in Art- Design Practices
Material practices and techniques from man made and natural composites residues and remnands in leftover abundance
in recycling material compositions for fiber futures from the anthroprocene landscape dissection
in design processes at Srishti Manipal Institute for Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore India.
2012-present Founder of design StudioButterfruit/ flowerlab ; material rresearch
2009-12 Philips design Probes material researcher/ material designer
Probes; microbial home, metamorphosis, food probes, livable cities 2050 with Clive Heerden and Jack Mama,
Netherlands/- India for Philips Probes Eindhoven NL
Residencies
2013 Khoj International Artist Association Delhi, curated by Pooja Sood, New Delhi IN
2013 Art Shops,curated by Frank Schlichtman, Gunaher village, Himachal Pradesh India IN
2012 flowerrooms Walkin Studios Bangalore IN
2010 Art or Fashion?!, 1shantiroad, curated by Suresh Jayaram, Bangalore INPublications/ Articles/ books;
Material design- doen materiaal prijs LINK
Art Fevour LINK
The Citizin LINK
Van Abbe museum - doen materiaalprijs LINK
Studio story- let kiss magazine interview LINK
Future materials bank LINK
Mix races homegrown LINK
INhabitat LINK
Elledecor IN LINK
Philips Probes -( speculative design microbial home Fiona and Dunne) foodprobes LINK
Metapmorphosis and Liveable cities ( Bart Hess, Harm Rensink and Eric de Haas publishing) LINK
Biodesign, on the Cross-Pollination of Nature, Science
and Creativity - het nieuwe insituut - curated book curated by William Myers, NAI Rotterdam NL LINKATLAS OF LIMBURG
Design Academy Eindhoven, 2011Commissioned by Marres-House for Contemporary Culture(NL), Bureau Europa(NL), Province of Limburg(NL)‘Atlas of Limburg’, an atlas developed in the framework of the ‘Landschapsproject’, commissioned by Marres Centre for Contemporary Culture(NL), Bureau Europa and the Province of Limburg(NL). The project focused on the landscape of Limburg, aiming to map ‘invisible infrastructures’. Focus point of study case; flax from raw to processed in this historic landscape.Methodologies
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(Elena Pereira - Flower Meal - Let’s Talk Nature Performance 2019 - Found Flowers, edible jellies, beeswax, sugar, leaves, etc.)
Imprint Archives; The Coloured Garlands, One is One is Repeat, They Fell from the Sky, Sandwiched Wild Flowers (wallpapers) Assorted Sizes, 2019
Elena Pereira is a conceptual artist who combines art, design, and performance to create objects which bring different materials into conversation with each other. Showcasing a varied body of work including resin-cast sculptures of found tissues and handkerchiefs, wallpaper sheets hand-blocked with different wildflower blooms, and a performative gesture inviting audience members to partake in a collective ‘memory’ meal — the core of Pereira’s practice is in the idea of creating an archive of residue.
2015 Solo show Bombay - Lakeeren Art Gallery- In Leftover Love and Other Stories, Elena Pereira a Bangalore based artist attends to the struggle of life's demands contemplated within one’s private living space. For her the home is where we refresh ourselves on a daily basis, ready to go out in the world. How can we remove ourselves from the staleness of our past intimacies and vulnerabilities to start anew is what she is trying to understand. Calling attention to the impermanence of life itself, she uses nature as a muse, destroying flowers - capturing their imprint as an essence before they disappear forever. Harvesting a desire for capturing and preserving life, the artist imprints these precious moments on wallpapers, fabrics, onto our beds, table, lamp, carpet and kitchen.
Indian-German-Dutch Elena Pereira used flowers to create "In Bloom", a collection of emotional interior design pieces that include a sculpture, flowers extracts, and a curtain made from dried roses.
Research of the imaginative characteristics of flowers and their usual imagery in interior design.
Flowers are used to express emotion, and to express the cultivation of perfection. A flower is the signifer of all important
moments in life, of birth, love and death;
they are the objects through which we
express ourselves.
We copy flower and plant images onto the
objects we use and with which we surround
ourselves in millions of ways, to project
beauty into our environment. We exploit
the noble reputation of ‘nature’ in order to
guarantee aesthetic quality.
We are all born in a designed world, and
we implement nature in design.
Life withers. Nothing ever stays the
same. I’m frustrated with the cultivation of
perfection; I want to destroy it before it’s
gone in order to save a trace, capturing the
imprint of life as a way of preserving it.
Withering flowers have been used in still
lives as representations of human withering.
The temporality of the blooms leaves an
imprint, stains, irrational traces, separating
the pure from the impure. Nature stains
human culture with its embellishments.
Using the flower as the subject changes
an object. The motifs of patterns come and
go depending on the seasons, but rather
than being influenced by the flowers, they
are determined by our taste. Flowers are
ornaments in heat.
I find that an imprint and a cast from the
shape is the best ways to keep the flower’s
impression, as a residue of life.
The research of this project involved the
use of flowers and man-made materials
of existing flower prints, combining them to
reflect the true essence of flowers.
By extracting the juice, colour, matter and
shape from the real flowers.
The stronger the constructions of the
technique were, like hammering or stitching,
the stronger the flower showed its essence.
The desire for capturing and preserving life
by extracting life into our wallpapers, fabrics, flower holders and into our beds.
Elena Pereira is a conceptual artist wor king primarily in the medium of flora. Her work expresses the performativity of the design process through what she calls ‘absurd material studies’, a commentary on the fantasy of creating something new. Pereira deconstructed the ironic process of printing images of nature – particularly flowers – onto wallpaper and fabrics that would be used indoors. The Industrial Revolution made it possible to print any image onto enormous quantities of fabric; this essentially removed the ‘natural’, artisanal process of hand-printing florals. Pereira thus decided to use actual flowers as printing materials. She used disregarded and rejected flowers from markets and florists, pressing them into silks and cottons with a hammer and wooden blocks. She fixated the prints with ‘secret decoctions’, re-mystifying the process of printing florals and emphasizing the value of discarded blooms.
On fabric, flower patterns are often depicted. Rather than using an artificial illustration of flowers this project uses real flowers to create unique fabric patterns. The flower selection originated from an abundance of leftovers at flower markets and floriculture in Netherlands and India. No harmful chemicals were used and only natural fixers and ingredients from the flowers were incorporated.In the same rhythm of block printing, each flower is repeatedly imprinted into the material with its colour, form and imprint.By removing the process of the perfect imprint one has to select the flower by its form, colour and botanical structure in its real dimensions.
All prints have been fixed with natural chemicals. Flowers have been donated by floriculture and from left overs at flower markets. In the nature of natural dyeing techniques the process has been simplified through pressings and hammering.
Information by the Future Materials Bank. link
