Art Exhibition: Where mountains are mere hills
There is a Denmark beyond the postcards, a place that doesn’t demand attention but lingers in the mind all the same. West Jutland is this kind of place: not a destination so much as a stubborn fact, shaped by wind and hard light, where the soil itself seems resigned to scarcity. It is the anti-Copenhagen, unhurried, unpolished, unconcerned with being loved, a reflection of the country’s quiet humbleness, where few have too much and fewer too little.
Yet there is beauty here, though it asks you to look twice. These analogue photographs, taken around Holstebro, are an argument against forgetting. They trace the quiet dignity of a landscape that persists, not in spite of its obscurity, but almost because of it. This is not the Denmark of design magazines or bicycle lanes. It is something older, quieter, a place that endures by seeming, at first glance, to have nothing to prove.
Maria Maarbjerg is a Dublin based artist originally from Denmark. Her practice centres on the lineage of static imagery, primarily through photography, with a particular affinity for analogue techniques due to their deliberate, contemplative pace. She works across both print and projected forms, forging connections between images through a thoughtful fusion of text and recorded dialogue. At the core of her practice is a deep fascination with journalism and the intricate art of crafting narratives, no matter how abstract they may appear.
Maarbjerg studied at Fatamorgana - The Danish School of Photography, and holds a BA in Fine Art from the Technological University of Dublin. Her work has been recognised with several awards and residencies, including A4 Sounds Studio’s We Only Want the Earth Studio Residency, the RDS Visual Art Award, and Fire Station Residential Studio Award.
She has exhibited in both Denmark and Ireland, including a solo exhibition, Ode to Changes, at the RHA in Dublin in 2022. She also took part in the group exhibition All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun at Dublin Castle and, in 2025, exhibited Ten-to-Two, a solo show at The Complex. She is currently a studio artist at The Complex in Dublin.
Organised together with the Embassy of Denmark in Ireland.
The Europa Gallery is a part of Dublin's Europa Experience.
Where mountains are mere hills
Europa Gallery
11 Chatham Street
Dublin 2
Running until October 5th.