Sharon Kivland: amateur and collector

A solo exhibition curated by Sotiris Kyriacou

The Gallery @ Idea Store Whitechapel presented an exhibition by Sharon Kivland, showcasing a selection of books and objects. The publications ranged from small artists' books to larger books in bigger print runs. The objects are sometimes multiples in limited - or even unlimited - editions, in which connections are woven in series, using strategies of appearances, disguise, impersonation, subtle dialogues, intimate suggestion and a lack of historical fixity. There is a light touch, an irreverent approach to established values, in works that address education, identity, work, desire, and liberty.

The exhibition took the form of a museum display; using three vitrines, the artist laid out her wares and history. In addition, there was a text work for the wall, in which Zola's novel 'Nana' is abridged according to light and lighting effects, including metaphor.

Each book or object was accompanied by a new text, which both described what was on display and suggested its part in a larger narrative. Works included an engraved lorgnette, a magnifying glass and a pocket mirror; red felt silhouettes of hats and their models from 1871; a set of tropes for use by authors; and a selection of books including the artist's venture into the holidays of Sigmund Freud. There were also objects and images from Kivland's considerable archive / collection, which frequently provokes an idea or work. This included cards for communion, photographs of confirmations, a wedding wreath, postcards of bathers and perriot / pierrettes.

Kivland is a collector, which is self-evident. She is also an amateur in the original sense of the word: a person of taste and a lover of things of which she has a certain knowledge as well as appreciation. One may also think of something that is practised for pleasure rather than for gain.