Choki Lindberg

 10 HOUSES 2021 (ongoing)

10 Houses 2021

During an era in which we have found ourselves confined to our homes by necessity, Choki Lindberg went in search of houses in the ten most densely populated cities in the world: “Those places where we have proved to be at our most vulnerable.” A physical journey was out of the question. So Choki conducted her research from home, using Google Earth. The main criterion: “Houses that have seen something.” Zooming in further and further on the metropolitan anthill, she arrived at individual façades, behind which personal lives are led. Small worlds of their own that make up a part of the bigger whole.

Characteristic of the rest of her oeuvre, the houses that Choki picked out were meticulously recreated in miniature. What results from the slow creative process, whereby the artist carefully selects the right materials with which to render each detail as faithfully as possible, is stratification. But unlike her earlier work that contained a certain romantic or nostalgic undertone, this time, Choki photographs the houses against a stark white background. Stripped of their city context, the buildings drift in nothingness. A personal portrait without distraction or the house as an empty shell?

The nostalgia in this instance lies in the poignant sincerity of the images. But the hope that emanated from her previous series is now absent. “We humans are making a mistake. We aren't treating the planet with the respect it deserves. In that sense, I see a clear parallel with the times we are living in; we humans are a virus, too.” Whereas previously, the artist brought to our attention the beauty of decay and the overwhelming power of nature through the use of plants, here, there is not a trace of green to be found in this pared-down imagery. An alarming situation: have we reached the point where humans have definitively ruined nature?

Nonetheless, in the exhibition, Choki ties in the beauty of nature, this time found outside her own work. Empty anthills and wasps’ nests are given a podium as free-standing sculptures. As deserted as the isolated houses in her photos, they invite us to carefully examine and draw comparisons with our human behaviour. “At the end of the day, we’re all doing the same thing: living our lives", says Choki. Whilst admiring the structures of the constructs, one cannot help notice a stifling sense of urgency come over one. Will we eventually leave the earth empty like these nests? Or is there still time for the tide to be turned?

text: Merel van den Nieuwenhof