Gander’s ongoing ballerina series reimagines Degas’ La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans, casting the figure in bronze and freeing her from her traditional pedestal. Lying on the ground and interacting with a small blue cube — a symbol of contemporary art and institutional structures — the ballerinas explore themes of agency, curiosity, and the tension between classical tradition and contemporary practice. Through these works, Gander invites viewers to reconsider the role of the artwork, the institution, and the spectator.
In Irretrievably broken from the past, or Low hanging fruit, the ballerina gazes toward what is easily within reach — the “low hanging fruit” — a metaphor for the temptation of nostalgia and the comfort of the familiar. The title suggests how an attachment to the past, or to what comes too easily, can limit ambition and prevent bolder forms of thinking and making.
At the same time, the object remains ultimately untouchable. Although it appears close, it belongs to a world the ballerina is not fully part of, reinforcing a sense of distance and quiet frustration. The work gently reflects on the constraints placed on artists and ideas, and on the difficulty of moving forward while remaining tethered to what has already been done.