Still Garden by Wiebke Pandikow

Artist list

Wiebke Pandikow

The solo exhibition Still Garden displaying artist Wiebke Pandikow’s works, opened in Helsinki, at GAo ShAn gallery, Korkeavuorenkatu 5, on January 26. It runs until February 26th.

In the midst of the dark and cold of Finnish winter, it invites the viewer into a small, quiet garden. There are tiny stones arranged by colour, like a miniature gravel path, pieces of wood with strange growths like lichen or moss, and many colourful leaves reaching from pale branches. Small baskets seem to await flowers or berries.

Wiebke Pandikow has worked with plastic bags since 2014, developing techniques to transform the material utilizing flat iron and soldering irons. Pandikow presents a thoughtlessly discarded material in the context of contemporary jewellery, questioning the meaning of value.

Pandikow first exhibited solo at GAo ShAn in 2019 with pieces made only from translucent plastic bags. Now colour is in focus. The new development started tentatively in 2017 with pieces utilizing the subdued tones of gravel collected from Finnish winter roads. Over the last few years, the new approach has culminated in bright pieces incorporating coloured bags and pigments.

In a world in the midst of difficult transitions, Pandikow encourages the viewer to perceive waste material from a different viewpoint. To see possibility and beauty in change, to find resilience and enjoyment in the making do with what we can find close at hand, sometimes directly under our feet.