Self-portraits, Caldic Collection (excerpt)
Her installations and objects evoke a ritual atmosphere and are characterized by the use of natural materials such as wood, metal, glass, bone and wool. The expression of the work has to do with the beauty of her body. This beauty is indescribable. The self-portrait fixes attention on the wonder of the new life that is growing inside Toril.
In addition to destruction and creation, distance and closeness also play a role in Toril Rygh`s oeuvre. Nuance and subtlety are introduced through the refined use of hard and soft materials. This ambivalence also means that intimacy , or at least the search for it, can be the impetus for desires through which repair always plays: to want to be as close as possible to the other. There is something very intimate about seeing her pregnancy, but she does not admit us to the world of her thoughts. What Toril wants to share with the viewer are images which are on the video film that is mounted on her stomach. These are reindeer, and their significance is subject to many different interpretations.
Annejet Palmann
Mixed media: photo, monitor, wood
Photo: Toril Rygh
Courtesy of Caldic Collection, Rotterdam