East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Snow-laden branches, lily ponds, rocky mountain sides, tropical gardens, sun-split cloudscapes – 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon', Norwegian artist Martine Poppe’s solo exhibition at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Tower Bridge, takes us on a journey through distant terrains. These landscapes emerge through a haze, as though coming into focus under a blinding beam of light, each infused with a particular kind of magic. Here, we are invited to be both reader and protagonist – artist and adventurer – coming together to explore and conjure new worlds.

The exhibition takes its title from a Norwegian fairy tale, which Poppe describes as a ‘blueprint’ for storytelling: a tale that encapsulates both a physical and metaphorical journey. This sense of transformation and discovery underpins the show as well as Poppe’s broader interest in the concept of a fairy tale – how stories travel across geographical, social, and cultural boundaries; how they convey a sense of hope and possibility rooted in a closeness to, and awe of, the natural world. ‘To me, landscapes combine the longing for the beginning with the excitement of exploration and the desire to map uncharted territories,’ she says. ‘They make me see the lines, colours, and shapes differently – revealing to the imagination other ways of life and realities that are just as possible.’