MAPS FROM THE FRAM STRAIT AT ENGELSKA MAGASINET, REJMYRE
How is a map created? Who draws it, and which stories are included? Maps have always been more than just representations of geography – they are stories, systems, and tools for understanding the world. RE-ORIENTEERING (April 18 april–May 18, 2025) at Engelska Magasinet in Rejmyre explores the map’s potential as an artistic and philosophical object, a bridge between reality and fantasy.
In the exhibition I am showing maps of the islands of the Fram Strait, islands that today rest at the bottom of the sea. The drawings have emerged from my conversations with Jon (Joanna) Brand and reflect the hopeful but often misleading search for the unknown, where Brandt is a character rooted in both science and history, but also in imagination and speculation.
From May 7 to June 5, 2023, I travelled across the Arctic Ocean. As the artist aboard the icebreaker Oden I was part of an expedition invited by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. The watercolor diaries became a way to understand a new place and its “inhabitants.” My watercolor-diary-entries gradually increased, culminating in this book – an artist’s observations from a voyage through a dreamy and lingering world of ice. The book can be purchased from me directly, or ordered from online book-stores such as Adlibris.
It is often said that those who venture into the polar regions never truly leave. They are seized not just by a need, but more accurately by an obsession – an inexplicable longing to return. The realm of cold is less a place on a map and more a state of mind.
In this icy domain, I crossed path with Ian Brooks aboard the icebreaker Oden. In “Sea of Ice,” we reunite on solid ground to convey our experiences of the cold’s vast, ever-changing landscape. The exhibition opens on November 30, with an opening speech at 2 PM, and runs until Dec 22. On Dec 8 at 5 PM: Martin Jakobsson, Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Stockholm University, presents his research on the Arctic and ocean floor mapping. The exhibition is supported by the Swedish Arts Council.
I have written an essay for AIOLOS about fantastical natural history from beyond-time research expeditions, with a focus on my acquaintance with Jon Brandt.
PARTICIPATING IN THE TRAVELING EXHIBITION EXPEDITION KONST, LIDKÖPINGS KONSTHALL
Invited by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, I travelled across the Arctic Ocean aboard the icebreaker Oden between May 7th and June 15th, 2023. “Expedition Konst” is an exhibition connected to SPRS’s Art Program. Included are artists who have participated in expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic. The first artists to participate were Lars Lerin and Svenerik Jakobsson. The expedition took place in Antarctica during 1988/89. I was the 37th artist to participate. The exhibition at Lidköpings konsthall opens on June 15th and runs until August 24th, 2024.
AN EXHIBITION, THAT IS MY DIARY FROM THE POLAR EXPEDITION ARTofMELT
Invited by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, I journeyed across the Arctic Ocean aboard the icebreaker Oden between May 7th and June 15th, 2023. Journeys where artists participate in expeditions connect to a long tradition. The desire to explore the unknown, the relentless curiosity, the wish to map, observe, possess. The first artists to participate in the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat’s art program were Lars Lerin and Svenerik Jakobsson. The expedition took place in Antarctica during 1988/89. I am the 37th artist to participate. In my luggage, I had four small books with watercolor paper. By painting at least one watercolor daily, I got to know the boat, the crew, the researchers, the sea, the ice, and the polar bears. In the exhibition at Sundsvalls Museum, I present watercolors, notes, and objects related to the ARTofMELT expedition. Opening on March 16th at 12:00 PM. The exhibition runs from March 16th to June 9th, 2024.
EXHIBITING MY WORK ABOUT JON AND JONAS AT BÆRUM KUNSTHALL, NORWAY
In the exhibition I present discoveries I have recreated through conversations with two 18th-century explorers. My acquaintance with Jonas Falck was established in 2014 during a journey to Lapland and deepened during a stay at the Bergmangården on Fårö in 2016. Conversations with Jon Brand began in 2023 during an expedition over the Arctic Ocean – as the artist aboard the icebreaker Oden, I was part of a research expedition, invited by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. The exhibition runs between Feb 15 – Mars 10, 2024. With support from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee.
”Vattenvarelser”, pediatric care unit of Huddinge Hospital
“Water Creatures/Vattenvarelser,” a public art commission that I recently completed at the pediatric care unit of Huddinge Hospital, draws inspiration from the nature studies conducted by Jonas Falck. Living in the late 18th century, he operated in a landscape of possibilities. The installation is spread throughout the entire care unit. There are 16 patient rooms, including 8 isolation rooms. Each patient room features a unique painting of a water creature. Additionally, two larger wall sections depict underwater themes in the corridors.
The pediatric ward is a place where many children and their families unfortunately spend far too much time. Therefore, it feels especially meaningful to create art for these individuals, offering them an escape to mentally travel to another world, to dream away, to encounter the unknown, to marvel, and to fantasize.
PARTICIPATING IN THE TRAVELING EXHIBITION EXPEDITION KONST, LULEÅ KONSTHALL
As the artist who most recently participated in a polar expedition with Oden, I’m included in Expedition Konst, an exhibition with artists who participated in research expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. I´m exhibiting alongside Bigert & Bergström, Josef Bull, Dascha Esselius, Svenerik Jakobsson, Bo Landin, Lars Lerin, Efva Lilja, Hanna Ljungh, Johan Petterson and Sigrid Sandström. The exhibition is made in collaboration with the Polar Research Secretariat. Expedition Konst runs between September 2 – November 5, 2023.
“Islands in reality”, a group exhibition with TEGEN2 at gallery Verkligheten in Umeå, runs between August 25 and September 16, 2023. The exhibition directs its focus towards both actual and symbolic islands. In the exhibition I will show work from the expedition, on the icebreaker Oden to the Arctic Ocean – drawings of underwater ridges, depicted as islands. I’m also showing work created alongside Jonas Falck – studies of extinct aquatic creatures from the island Fårö. I’m exhibiting alongside Nils Claesson, Dror Feiler, Antonie Grahamsdaughter and Gunilla Sköld Feiler.
