Artist : Carola Vooges
Genre : Sculpture
Period : November 1 till December 1
Everyday, 9.00AM till 10.00PM
Location : Ganesha Gallery, Four Seasons Resort
Jimbaran Bay, Jimbaran
Tel: 701010
Having worked as an art teacher for children and seniors while
pursuing a career as an actress and model in the Netherlands,
where she was born, art has long been a part of Carola Vooge’s
life. An artist in the true sense of the word, her creative
journey has included painting, film, television, fashion design,
theatre and dance. Since 1998, her efforts have focused on
working with stone and wood, creating sculptures that have
quickly won international admirers and have been featured
in numerous publications, including ‘Architectural Digest’.
Carola came to work with wood only after she moved to Bali,
where she has now been living for almost fifteen years.
In her current exhibition, ‘Birds’, at Ganesha
Gallery, Carola continues her investigation of form and inner
space. “My work is an exploration of natural forms”,
she says, explaining how she is inspired by nature and natural
objects. The immediacy of natural primitive shapes, a fallen
twisted trunk of a tree, some sea bleached driftwood, a fragment
of a sea shell, are all points of departure in her process
of transforming and transcending found natural objects into
monumental, mythical, zoological and anthropomorphic totem-like
‘bird’ sculptures. The works dominate the gallery
space and the overall impression is one of organic simplicity,
of grace and charm. Maybe, they are mythical birds or structures
surviving from a former eon, or the remnants of numerous totems
set into the earth to mark a boundary. Could they be works
to be contemplated? The sculptures can be open for various
interpretations.
The works on display are not mere representations of birds,
or a metaphor for the creatures’ flight. Rather, the
expressive and conceptual intentions of these pieces address
a subject matter that is linked with immortality, high virtue,
and a form that is sacred and manifest in myth, beyond its
usual structure. Birds, of course, are a symbol of the soul.
The jagged beak-like tops of her totem-like sculptures may
direct the viewer to a spiritual realm.
A totem is any natural or supernatural being or animal which
watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family,
clan or tribe. In kinship and descent, if the ancestor of
a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem. Some individuals,
not involved in the practice of a tribal religion, choose
to adopt a personal spirit animal helper which has special
meaning to them and call this a totem. Beliefs regarding these
animal helpers can vary, from adopting one on a whim, to taking
up an animal that a person sees representing favorable traits
reflected in their own behavior or appearance. These are called
‘power animals’. Many people believe their animal
helpers act as a spiritual guide.
Works, such as ‘Double Bird With Fossil Inlay 1 &
2’, or ‘One Bird Carved With Holes’ somehow
retain their wooden natural form from which they were inspired,
yet they go deeper than one would expect, evoking a sense
of reflection and reverence. Carola is fascinated by the form,
texture and surface of natural materials and the way in which
they can become a potent bearer of meaning. Wood, chosen for
its color and pattern, remains her material of choice. Each
totem-like sculpture appears to have emerged out of both a
physical and spiritual interaction between the artist and
the medium. Through direct carving, she uses the evocative
potential of her found timber, by opening out form in order
to reveal and release the natural organic forms and abstract
energy which underlies the tangled diversity of nature. These
forms, rather than a likeness to nature, are the means through
which a sense of ultimate reality, or even spiritual truths,
is conveyed.
Nonetheless, all her sculptures remain highly sensuous. The
smooth surfaces and curves of the wood invite one to physically
interact with the art. Perhaps Carola’s greatest strength
is her ability to imbue her sculptures with a deep sense of
awe that mirrors “her personal quest for a sense of
balance against the backdrop of an increasingly complex world”.
She offers us a moment of sanctuary. Carola proposes a shamanistic
approach to serenity and spiritual harmony. Her art is an
invitation to share a moment of peace and tranquility.
