Horse, horse, horse – Guestperformance by Unga Klara

Artist – Leonora Carrington (1917–2011). The play is newly written by Erik Uddenberg and based on Leonora Carrington’s life and struggle for artistic survival. A merciless father burns up his daughter’s rocking horse and an oppressed upper-class girl breaks free, is disinherited and seeks the world through herself. A brave 19-year-old flees  from home to define herself in Paris – at this time the center and absolute boiling point of art.

A long and turbulent relationship with the 26-year-old Max Ernst in the middle of World War II eventually resulted in psychosis and a stay in a mental hospital. From the ashes in the fire grow dramatic plays, distinctive short stories and unique paintings and sculptures. And everything matters. Everything is understandable and we see Leonora Carrington’s mysterious, skilled, strong, feminist self emerge intensely among alchemical symbols, animals and spirits – all in well-chosen egg tempera.

What does this artistry say to young people today? Leonora Carrington was a rambunctious child who would probably have received a letter diagnosis if she grew up in our time. But with her wayward expression, insidious ways and indomitable desire to portray the world, she would certainly have refused to fit into today’s ideal of women or media frenzy. Her 75-year-long artistry is set as a counterpoint to the myth of the young genius who lives hard and dies young. She was a devoted mother, a passionate painter and a constantly engaged citizen who made a huge impression on Surrealism. She is a forgotten artist, but in Mexico she lives on in the people’s memory as a wise, secretive, warm and humorous person.