Maria Torp – Shaping a Pattern
Twelve journeys, twelve countries, and twelve individuals who have dedicated their lives to work for the rights of girls and women.
The road to the Shaping a Pattern exhibition has taken Danish artist Maria Torp all around the world, ever since she made an ambitious decision to use her art as a voice for the rights of girls and women on a global scale. By focusing on individuals, who have come up with solutions, locally as well as globally, the project aims to form a dedicated celebration of the people who act. It has taken Torp seven years to complete the exhibition taking her as far afield as Argentina, Greenland, China, Ukraine, and South Africa. From polished floors in government buildings to safe houses on barren savannahs.
Freedom of speech, circumcision and the right to education are some of the main themes expressed in Maria Torp’s 12 powerful portraits, which are the results of her project and nerve of the exhibition. Maria Torp has visited, lived with, and followed the persons portrayed, including grassroots activists and a Nobel Prize winner in order to capture and understand the underlying structural patterns behind for instance, female genital mutilation.
Among them is the Afghan rapper Sonita Alizadeh, active in the fight against child marriage. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former vice president of South Africa and CEO of UN Women, Ziauddin Yousafzai, a prominent advocate for girls’ right to education and father to Malala, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt. Denis Mukwege, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with victims of sexual war violence.
These, and eight other notable figures have all committed themselves to fight for the rights of girls and women. They have now been portrayed in the twelve large oil paintings that form the core of the Shaping a Pattern exhibition, opening on January 18, 2024, at Trapholt – Museum of Modern Art and Design in Kolding, Denmark. The exhibition is then expected to travel internationally.
Besides the portraits, the exhibition will feature a publication presenting the twelve individuals, and the project as a whole, as well as videos from Maria Torp’s journeys, sketches, and photographs.
Shaping a Pattern is Maria Torp’s most comprehensive project to date and has required a personal effort out of the ordinary.
Documentary
In connection with the exhibition, a documentary film about the project is being produced, which will be broadcast on The Danish National Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and in a shorter version at the museum.
Book
A book about the project will be published by the Danish publishing house Gyldendal. Alongside Trapholt’s curator Katrine Stenum’s article and photographic material, it will serve as a catalogue for the exhibition.
Portrayed individuals
Dr. Denis Mukwege
DR Congo
Gynecologist, surgeon, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2018
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
South Africa
Former CEO of UN Women and former Vice President of South Africa, minister under Nelson Mandela
Seqininnguak Qitura Lynge Poulsen
Greenland
Activist for indigenous rights and LGBTQ+
Sampat Pal
India
Social activist, founder of the Gulabi Gang
Ziauddin Yousafzai
Pakistan
Education activist and father of Malala Yousafzai
Rhobi Samwelly
Tanzania
Founder of safehouses for girls escaping female genital mutilation
Katja Iversen
Denmark
CEO of the Museum for the United Nations – UN Live. Former CEO of Women Deliver
Inna Shevchenko
Ukraine
Activist and leader of the international women’s movement FEMEN
Marta Alanis
Argentina
Founder of Catholics for Choice-Argentina
Sonita Alizadeh
Afghanistan
Rapper, activist, and Girls Not Brides ambassador
Xiong Jing
China/Hongkong
Editor and Executive Director of Feminist Voices
The last person has not yet been announced.
The artist
Maria Torp (1975) is a Danish artist educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and the London College of Printing. Her paintings are executed in a hyperrealistic style, rendering the works not only true to life but also surreal. The pieces in the exhibition are all in the format of 2 x 1.5 meters, and each one is complemented by video material and photographs.
Shaping a Pattern is supported by:
Det Obelske Familiefond
Beckett Fonden
William Demant Fonden
Statens Kunstfond
Sydbank Fonden
