Inma Herrera
In residence: August - September 2024
This year we are pleased to welcome back artist Inma Herrera who returns to Longyearbyen to continue her project Arctic Tales of Mother Earth.
From Triassic ammonites to impeccably preserved plant specimens from the Cretaceous period, Svalbard's geological treasury harbours fossils dating back to Earth's inception. These fossils bear the enduring imprints of time and the transformative forces of sedimentation, pressure, temperature fluctuations, and the ever-shaping influence of water.
Inspired by this natural marvel, Inma Herrera is embarking on a creative journey, delving into the registration of fossil imprints using the "Rubbing Printing" technique—a time-honored, non-invasive, and acid-free image transfer method employing paper, water, and ink.
Her project explores the geological genesis of our planet in the Arctic region through the lens of experimental and earth-friendly printing methods, connecting the concepts of imprint, geological time, and extinction through the poetics of traditional and contemporary printmaking.
In the summer of 2022, Inma Herrera was nominated for a residency at Artica Svalbard by the Queen Sonja Print Award. The awe-inspiring beauty of Svalbard's landscape, marked by its spanning numerous geological eras, ignited a fresh turn in her practice. Her initial visit to Svalbard proved insufficient for the project's completion as its timeline remains subject to the dynamic Arctic environment, contingent upon favorable weather conditions for outdoor work and on-site printing. Her return to Artica aims at allowing the artist to conclude the project, providing her with the necessary time, space, and resources to fully realise her creative vision amidst the unique and inspiring environment of Svalbard.
You can hear Inma talk more about her experiences in Svalbard in the below interview film:
Inma Herrera (Madrid, Spain) is a Helsinki-based artist, recipient of the Ducat Prize in 2020, and a former resident at the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome from 2017 to 2018. She has recently exhibited her work at HAM, Amos Rex Museum, Forum Box, ARCO Madrid, and the Miró Mallorca Foundation. She is also part of an artist duo with Shirin Salehi and were awarded the Pilar Juncosa and Sotheby’s Biennial Award for Artistic Creation in 2019.
Herrera's primary expressive language is printmaking, through which she dissects and deconstructs the syntax of this medium, crafting installations that bridge it with sculpture, video, and performance. Her work establishes both conceptual and material connections related to the concepts of imprint and matrix.
She is currently working on the publication of the book Matrix Mundi, which brings together her most recent exhibitions in Spain and Finland. The book contextualises her artistic research in relation to the material origins of copper, connecting it with the development of metallurgy, mining, chemistry, and alchemy.
Inma has received funding from Nordic Culture Point for her upcoming residency at Artica.
