Malin Enström: Inversion

Present Tense

As forests burned, protestors marched and a global pandemic surged, St. John’s-based artist Malin Enström took her own temperature. She measured it three times a day for 130 days: 6 am, noon and 6 pm.

For Enström, this series is a reflection of a world turning inward. “The world has a fever,” Enström describes, “Everyone is focused on temperature right now.” The ritual of taking her own temperature was partly an act of comfort, searching for normalcy in routine. Enström also wanted to note any shifts that might occur in her body in the midst of personal and world events. The resulting artworks show an abstract visualization of the data she collected, matching the colour scheme used by scientists to visualize global warming trends. 

As we each search for certainty and comfort in an uncertain time, Enström asks us: How do individual experiences embody what is occurring globally? 

To learn more about the project, click here for an interview with the artist. 

About Present Tense:

Present Tense is a year-long exhibition series highlighting artists from across the province who have produced work in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Its intention is multi-layered and aspirational. On one hand, the present is full of tensions as we discover new ways of completing familiar tasks. On the other hand, a present tense anticipates a collectively defined future tense. The ideas and explorations presented in the series suggest possible paths forward. These paths are full of hope, sustainability and connectivity.
 

About Malin Enström:
 

“I make art to reveal the hidden in plain sight. I make art to draw attention to stories that can be mistaken as background noise.”
– Malin Enström

Malin Enström explores shapes, surfaces, patterns and textures in landscapes and objects, and celebrates their often-unexpected relationships. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, she has also lived in Southern Europe, North Africa and North America. She won the Arts & Letters Award twice (2013 and 2017) and was a finalist for the Emerging Visual Artist Award (2014 VANL-CARFAC Excellence in Visual Arts). Enström was nominated for the YWCA: St. John’s Women of Distinction Award (2016) for her first solo exhibition, One Out of Nine. Her work is found in many private and public collections. She is represented by The Leyton Gallery of Fine Art.

Image credit: Malin Enström. “Body temperature taken at 6 am from March 24th to April 7th, 2020.” Digital print. Collection of the artist.