ESZTER BURGHARDT February 5 to 26,2011, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary

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"Lava for Dessert"

Eszter Burghardt, "Lava for Dessert," archival inkjet print, 2010, 12" X 16.5".

ESZTER BURGHARDT

February 5 to 26, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary

BY: Amy Fung

Obsessed with the diverse and living topography of Iceland, Eszter Burghardt came home to her studio in Vancouver and started re-creating the textures of the land. From the mossy velour of the coasts to the ominous barren interiors, Burghardt has shaped a series of Icelandic-inspired landscapes using wool sheared fresh off an Icelandic sheep that she learned to process and dye herself. “I’ve been only twice, but I really wanted to go back there,” Burghardt explains. “Through the studio, I can go back to these places.” Using a macro lens, Burghardt teases only the wool visible through the lens to create landscapes that otherwise would look like nothing much within her small dioramas. “It’s like when you’re looking through a microscope in biology class. It’s a completely different world,” she says. An avid hiker, her most recent trip inspired another series of macro photographs using food, mostly poppy seeds and coffee grounds, whose texture reminded her of the rocks beneath her feet during her long hikes.