Round Circle
by Jota Castro
for Tondo Book, 2008

 
Round Circle

by Jota Castro


The first time I saw how Ylva Ogland’s hand caressed her genitalia in one of her emphatic and magnificent circles, I thought I had witnessed the source of inspiration for the Iphone touch screen. The fingers are gentle and provoke almost compulsive movements.
Reading my own words I can see how the compulsiveness is just my invention as on the contrary Ylva's paintings appear to be suspended moments of perfect onanism.

I observe these paintings without blushing.
They are not designed for the psychoanalyst’ offices.
I cannot conceive of someone hiding them for their own pleasure.
I think Ylva Ogland managed to capture a special feature of our time in her tiny grey/blue circles. We live in a time of doubt where loneliness, unemployment, political insecurity and fear have lead withdrawal to become the source of possible happiness. This eventuality of modern-day living is reflected by this moment of intimacy that is masturbation.
Unlike other artists who display their nudes with narcissism, Ogland rids herself of modesty in order to give a complete lecture of her body, and for me her body represents:
Sex
Memory
Time
Growth
Drink
Journey
Window
Start and end.

We do not only see a beautiful person displaying herself, but the perfect demonstration that the best way to breathe fresh life into art is to show it within the artist’s intimacy. This intimacy is real, it is not sadly exposed, nor exacerbated. These paintings in their technical display are loyal to the principle of generosity and confidence that is omnipresent in Ogland’s works.


I still do not know how the artist managed to distance herself from the narcissism that is so common in this type of works. Ogland’s work makes me feel that I am the fortunate observer of what could be a key moment in an artist’s development.

This intimacy leads to a reflection on our time, on the spirituality of masturbation and the need to know oneself before producing any type of pleasure: creating, living, changing and creativity in general. Her paintings for me are images of her time rooted in the deepest region of my desires: “they are the reflection of the time that is to come, take care of me and I will take care of you and together we will consider the best ways to improve this world in which we laugh, suffer and live”.

I do recall that the first time I saw Italians by Cy Twombly; I understood the turbulences of Latin history. I felt that a bond other than that of the shame of conquests tied me to the universality suggested by this work. All roads do lead to Rome. Curiously the painting by Twombly remained stubbornly in my mind as the beginning of the world’s disorder and unrest, no poetry, no sensuality, just interpretation and knowledge, pleasure was far from that wonderful painting as it may have been far from the eyes of that painter from Virginia.

Over 30 years have passed since I saw Italians for the first time, and the thing I missed in Twombly’s work, I notice today in Ogland’s circles.
Pleasure is living. Living is knowing that you can have fun without fear – at least in the continent in which I am writing these words – in any case Ogland holds her destiny in her hands just as Twombly did. There are people who manage effortlessly to touch, simply touch any part of a human being. Now it is Ylva’s turn to take the risk of testifying about the time in which she lives. So, one day when from the vestiges of our civilization, someone studying our time asks: what are these movable fingers that run to search for information on their Iphones; what do they mean?
No one is more important than oneself?
No one knows you better than yourself?
Protect yourself from your time?

I hope that upon seeing what remains of Ylva’s circles, the same investigator will say: finally I understand- the fingers are the world, I am the body and the observer is not alone – he is with you Ylva.
And not with my Iphone.