VOLCANO WOMAN at Sabsay

20.9. – 2.11.19

Ursula Reuter Christiansen was inspired to make the exhibition while traveling the lunar landscape of Lanzarote – a Spanish island of volcanic origin. Shaded in colours of ash grey and ochre, the island emerged about 15 million years ago through fiery eruptions and has solidified lava streams and dramatic rock formations. In Volcano Woman the artist imagines female characters to crack through Lanzarote’s dusty ground from another prehistoric state like erupting volcanoes.

Symbolically, the volcano represents anger, revenge, hidden emotions, destruction and new creation. Associated with power in the natural world, the volcano’s violent release of lava and gas can never entirely be predicted. A volcano that has been quiet for a thousand years can suddenly awake from its slumber and cause great damage and change. The women emerging from the volcanic eruptions in Ursula Reuter Christiansen’s exhibition all seem to wonder where they belong and if they belong in this world, casting light on female existence in society today.

Ursula Reuter Christiansen’s continuous and significant impact on the development of feminist art in Denmark and internationally is conveyed by the image of the volcano. As feminism has erupted and ignited the political and ideological landscape throughout history, Volcano Woman stands for the artist as an image of potential explosion – be it of personal, cultural, or political nature. The creativity and vitality of women are like dormant volcanoes. It has not been extinguished but is gathering momentum to explode and will shake the entire land.