Artist Statement






Why do we act the way we do? What does an emotion look like?
Is there a pattern and possible involution in us, like there is a lawful evolution in nature?


I am attracted to the things we cannot see, like micro/macro-cosmos, human emotions and perception, and am driven by those questions that don´t have an answer.

I use my work trying to understand something, rather than to state anything. As adults we instinctively rationalize every shape and thing we see, associating it to previous experience or memory, constantly referring backwards instead of being open to the perception in a more present or pure state.

As I see it we live in two worlds. The external, physical world which we can see, touch, photograph and interact with others in, and the internal world which is invisible, where we perceive and react, mentally and emotionally, to the external world. But these two realities do not always correspond, and it is this friction point that interests me. 

I mix mediums, because every medium and material carries with them an unique ability to understand something new. Photography is fast and can document and collect the external world, drawing and embroidery is slow and helps me digest the world around me. Using myself as subject and object, performing, acting, and questioning the roles of myself, I move between the personal and the archetypical, creating maps of my inner landscapes through making artist´s books and site specific installations.

I work with any medium and material that fits inside my backpack. The sketchbook is a cornerstone in my practice. The sketchbook has always have been used as a tool to study and learn from nature. I use mine to explore the inner world, which we carry with us all the time, and which is invisible. The sketchbooks are the meeting point between my inner, holistic experience, and the outside world. I love how the sketchbook never demands a final answer or conclusion, but is an investigating medium in itself. By continually re-using and re-editing my photographs, I presents my work as a process itself, never final or complete. 



Sara Skorgan Teigen, 2023