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Hanna Tordai

Biljett

August 2026

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Hanna Tordai (b. 1999) explores moments and periods of dissociation through painting, finding the fragmented more real than the coherent. Through themes such as labour, language, and repetition, she examines alternative ways of depicting reality and lived experience. This spring, Tordai graduated from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. Her solo debut, Vila & Arbete, was presented at Cowgirl Gallery in 2024.

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Tordai’s paintings reflect the poetic and understated cinematic language of Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman (1950–2015). For Biljett at Cowgirl Gallery, Tordai presents a painting of the same title, created in response to Akerman’s films. Among these, D’Est (From the East) from 1993 serves as a particularly important point of reference for the exhibition. D’Est is a personal travelogue and documentary that moves through Eastern Europe during a period of change following the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Shot on 16 mm, the film follows Akerman’s gaze without traditional dialogue or narrative.

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When Chantal Akerman’s partner, cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton, watched D’Est with Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata playing loudly in the background, the idea for D’Est en musique emerged: a film concert in which Akerman’s images are shown alongside live classical music. In 2005, they produced the performance, with Wieder-Atherton performing works by, among others, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Janáček, and Schnittke on cello.

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As part of the exhibition at Cowgirl Gallery, a listening session inspired by D’Est en Musique and Hanna Tordai’s work will be held. This will be the first in an upcoming series of curated listening events focusing on classical compositions on CD. In collaboration with cinema Hypnos Theatre in Malmö, the film D’Est will be screened during the opening week. 

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During the opening, Hanna Tordai will be in conversation with translator Benjamin Wagner. Wagner recently translated Chantal Akerman’s book Min mamma skrattar (Ma mère rit, 2013) into Swedish, published by Filmögon. As in Akerman’s final film, No Home Movie (2015), the relationship between Akerman and her mother is at the centre of the book.

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The exhibition will also see the release of Cowgirl Conversation Series #3. In this issue, the works of Hanna Tordai and Akerman are brought together through contributions by journalist Harry Thorfinn-George, translator Benjamin Wagner, and writer Ren Azuma.

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Curator

Selma Modéer Wiking

Cowgirl Gallery