ECHOES OF THE PAST: LOST MAPPING | LELLO//ARNELL
LELLO//ARNELL is an artist duo comprised of Jørgen Craig Lello (Fredrikstad, Norway, 1978) and Tobias Arnell (Lund, Sweden, 1978). Their collaboration began in 2003 after meeting at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts.
Echoes of the Past: Lost Mapping 01 (2024) is one of four collages that make up the eponymous series, an intriguing reflection on the concept of perception and memory, created using a deeply conceptual methodology that generally characterizes the practice of the two artists.
LELLO//ARNELL explore how the world is read and interpreted. Specifically, in this artwork, they deconstruct various images into fragments, then reunite them into compositions that challenge traditional logic and coherence, creating a complex dialogue between past and present, order and chaos.
The four collages work both conceptually and formally: visually captivating, they feature different photographic scenes cut into polygons of various sizes, united in a rectangle surrounded by a sort of linen mat.
On the photographs, depicting abandoned buildings, vegetation, and other natural landscapes, LELLO//ARNELL apply monochromatic filters – red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and gray – which give these collages an effective chromatic harmony, as well as a stylistic continuity.
The story that inspired the duo for the creation of the Echoes of the Past: Lost Mapping series is that of the Nicosia International Airport in Cyprus. This place, once a symbol of international relations, now lies abandoned in the “Green Line,” a buffer zone controlled and protected by the United Nations, which since 1974 has divided the capital and separated the territory occupied in the north by Turkish military forces, and by Greek forces in the south.
The airport, once an important commercial and civilian hub, is now a sad memory of the past, suspended in a temporal limbo that reflects the geopolitical instability of the entire island.
Through their process of deconstructing and reconstructing images, the artists invite the viewer to reflect on how we perceive and interpret the places and events that shape our reality. Their artworks suggest that our understanding of the world is always mediated and partial, influenced by experiences, expectations, and biases.
Nicosia Airport becomes a pretext to present an apocalyptic vision, almost as if it were a warning for a global future as dangerous as it is inevitable, unless awareness is raised and the right precautions are taken.
LELLO//ARNELL
Echoes of the Past: Lost Mapping 01, 2024
Photo collage on linen canvas, 40 x 30,5 x 2,3 cm
Exhibited: “LELLO//ARNELL. Tipping Porters Not Allowed,” 2024, Stuttgart, Galerie Elisabeth & Reinhard Hauff. Photos: Bernhard Karmann. Courtesy: the artists and Galerie Elisabeth & Reinhard Hauff.
24/07/24