Dorte Kloppenborg-Skrumsager

Born in Denmark, living and working in London.

Chelsea College of Art - BA Hons Fine Art

Royal College of Art - MA Sculpture

Member of Royal Society of Sculptors

My work is concerned with the philosophy of existence with an overlay of curiosity for science and current affairs.

Alienation is a part of human existence and has escalated in recent years due to the political developments in the world and our increased focus on identity politics. This is happening in a world already dealing with the uncertainty of globalisation, artificial intelligence, and the pace of change resulting from technology.

My own sense of alienation has been heightened by my Scandinavian upbringing, followed by the extended feeling of not belonging in the country where I live. My work has taught me to use this estrangement as a tool to convey an awareness of conflicting relations in the world. In One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy, I use contrasting orange and blue to emphasise the rift, embedding the colours into the allusive materials of a cement mixer from China and 60 kilos of therapy putty from the USA.

I tend to let my work exist in an incomplete, fluid, metamorphic state, alluding to movement without revealing the end. I hope this transformative stance conveys an expansion towards change through mutual influence, engagement, and interaction to avoid the paralysing effect of the status quo.

Positive Contamination, 2021 — Paint and Pencil on Board 110 cm x 180 cm

Medium:

Pencil and paint on Board

Size:

110 cm x 180 cm

One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy, 2021 — Orange Cement Mixer from China and Sky Blue Therapy Putty from the USA H 90 cm x W 120 cm D x 80 cm

These sculptures I prepared during the last year in lockdown. The inspiration came out of the monotone daily life combined with constant making time-consuming and wasteful failures in my work.

The title is One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy in homage to Camus, his contribution to absurdism and his book “The Myth of Sisyphus”. The colours and choice of materials allude to the geopolitical rift we are experiencing.

Medium:

Orange Cement Mixer from China and Sky Blue Therapy Putty from the USA

Size:

H 90 cm x W 120 cm D x 80 cm

Absurdity Colourful Connection Covid19 Existence Existentialism Labour philosophy Political Repetition therapy Unity

Covid Drawing 1, 2020 — Pencil, paint on paper 80 cm x 58 cm

Covid Drawing 2, 2021 — Pencil, paint on paper 80 cm x 58 cm

Covid Drawing 3, 2020 — Pencil, paint on paper 80 cm x 58 cm

Mindmap, 2020 — Paint, pencil on paper 42 cm x 59 cm I put Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man in the middle of my universe. His timeless drawing symbolise our human sense of being in the world and represent our passion for art, science and philosophy.

During the lockdown, I started my way of drawing. It began as a break time occupation to the very physical sculpture work. I found it interesting to follow my 3D approach to a heavy handmade paper surface by sanding, oiling and adding layers of different media. I have a tendency to find satisfaction in a laborious process. The experience made me realise drawing will stay with me and is helping me introducing new elements into my 3D work as well.

Medium:

Paint, pencil, pastels on Paper

Size:

80 cm x 58 cm

No-Thing, 2011 — H 50 cm x W 25 cm x D 25 cm Media: Glass, Wood, Nothing "What is constant in a thing, its consistency, lies in the fact that matter stands together with a form. The thing is formed matter". Martin Heidegger, The Origin of the Work of Art

Free Will, 2021 — Bronze H 80cm x W 30cm x D 31 cm

Written in The Stars, 2016 — Bronze H 185 cm x W 240 x D 35 cm

Belonging, 2013 — Bronze H 35 cm x W 60 cm x D 30 cm

Tree — Bronze and Wood H 120 cm x W 59 cm x D 49cm

brain contemporary fluidity Free will freedom Kierkegaard limitation octopus philosophy prison sam harris Sculpture

Atlas's Stones Left Behind, 2021 — 2021 Five Atlas Stone Moulds and Cable Ties H 40 cm x W 120 cm x D x 55 cm

Medium:

2021 Five Atlas Stone Moulds and Cable Ties

Size:

H 40 cm x W 120 cm x D x 55 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 0 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 1 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 2 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 3 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 5 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 8 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 13 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 21 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 34 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 55 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 89 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 144 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Cones & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 233 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 377 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 610 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 987 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 1597 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 2584 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 6765 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 10946 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 17711 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 28657 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 46368 — 2021 Ebonised Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 75025 — 2021 Ebonised Solid Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 121393 — 2021 Ebonised Solid Oak Column, Orange Wooden Cone & Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

Dissolving Shapes, 196418 — 2021 Ebonised Solid Oak Column, Painted Wooden Cone, Therapy Putty H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

These sculptures I prepared during the lockdown. The inspiration came out of the monotone daily life combined with constant making time-consuming and wasteful failures in my work.

For me, this work captures the joy of working with form, losing track of time, and the problem of preserving the moment.

These images are time differentiated stages of the same sculpture over 5 hours. According to the Fibonacci sequence, they are numbered to put a suitable reflection on the deterioration of the sculpture.

Medium:

Therapy putty, solid ebonised oak column, painted turned wooden cone

Size:

H 150 cm x W 15 cm x D 15 cm

abstract bodily Colourful covid drawing Leonardo da Vinci lockdown organs painting philosophy tension Vitruvian

Fluid Columns — Solid Oak on patinated Bronze Base H 150 cm x W 13 cm D x 13 cm

In Loving Memory of All My Tears — Work in progress

In Loving Memory of All My Tears

Drawing for Cluster Base

These are work in progress:

Fluid Columns

I explore the manipulating and the symbolic representation of columns. I have for a long time found it interesting how we here in England relish the use of columns in the strangest architectural combinations. The symbolism of columns in cultures and identities is large. My fluid columns indicate the importance of striking a balance between fluidity and stability, and a structure needs to give support without imposing a paralysing effect.

In Loving Memory of All My Tears

Tears are embodied in the most intense moments of our lives. It is when we feel most alive, happy or sad. When tears are present, we are present, and our thoughts and body flow as one. I want to capture those moments and treasure them. The ripple will work as the base, so it is possible to take the tear of its base and engage with a text or signifying that particular moment.

The Chain of Being, 2016 — Bronze & Scarlett Bondage Rope H 300 cm x W 80 cm x D 80 cm

Saligia + 1, 2015 — Bronze and Wood H 165 cm x 18 cm x 19 cm This installation is a contemporary version of The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth. Even though the origin of the deadly sins grew out of the Egyptian monasteries around 100-400 AD, their essence remains an inherent part of our human nature. How we handle and balance the deadly sins defines our lives and becomes ingredients to our identity. Sins do not come in numbers or categories, hence the Saligia+1.

Metamorphosis, 2010 — Bronze H 17 cm x W 57 cm x D 40 cm

Fluid Identity, 2012 — Bronze and Wood H 165 cm x W 50 cm x D 50 cm

The Chain of Being is a fluid bronze chain hanging from a red scarlet bondage rope connected to a bronze hook in the ceiling. The chain gets more and more fluid towards the floor. The red scarlet rope runs along the chain towards the base and piles up on the floor.

The sculpture has references to the bloodline, imprisonment, freedom, memory, and destiny. In Norse mythology, the Norns are three older women representing the past, the present, and the future. They weave a piece of string for each person in the world. The red scarlet rope also has references across religions and cultures, linking the Earth and the sky, providing nutrition like the umbilical cord, creating stability, regulating the movement of the stars, and bringing love and protection.

Medium:

Bronze & Bondage Rope

Size:

H 300 cm x W 80 cm x D 80 cm

Discussion

Identity and its Constituents Friday 2 July 13:00 (GMT +0)

IdentitiesDigging up the PastContemporary artFine arts

Dorte Kloppenborg-Skrumsager

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Royal College of Art