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IKIGAI
A solo exhibition by Eske TouborgDescription by Peter Ole Pedersen art historian, ph.d. :
Eske Touborg, is embodied energy. Like a hyperactive character from an arcade game, he moves effortlessly between art, design and social events. This kind of behaviour carries over into his image-making. Eske’s works are characterised by a frenetic energy, a kind of painterly ADHD minus the difficulty concentrating that otherwise characterises the diagnosis.
From this perspective, Eske’s visual universe appears suitably boundless. The world is his canvas, and one gets the sense of an artist who wants to enrich the surroundings he passes through and the places life invites him into. So far, this has resulted in everything from everyday decorative motifs adorning a psychiatric ward, Big Bang as a graffiti community project, a gigantic shark on the side of a building, and all manner of sea creatures spread across the city’s tunnels and façades.
We therefore find ourselves in a universe stretched between the boundless and the disciplined when we look into Eske’s body of work. It is hardly surprising, then, that his recent work has turned its gaze towards sumo wrestling, a sport that so profoundly embodies these extremes. Sumo is a paradoxical national sport for a country otherwise characterised by an understated and discreet culture. Here, professional dedication meets a mythological celebration of strength, all embodied in the wrestlers’ enormous physiques.
Eske captures sumo culture in his works, thereby placing himself within a long graphic tradition of depicting this fascinating phenomenon. His interest in sumo stems primarily from his travels to Japan, but in many ways it seems logical that this particular subject should occupy such a prominent place in Eske’s work. It echoes the larger-than-life quality found throughout his art and reflects his open curiosity about the world.