Jag längtar skogarna/Forest Yearning​

Kulturhuset i Ytterjärna 18/9-24/10    2021 Skarpnäcks Kulturhus    27/10-11/12  2021

Jag längtar skogarna

Jag målar fram en skog. En konstnärlig kloning. Samma träd kan skildras på oändligt många sätt. Kanske är det konstens roll att bygga upp våra skogar igen? Att framkalla träden på våra fotografier, att måla fram tallarna på våra dukar? Att synliggöra. 

Skogarna omkring oss. De stora susen. De höga väktarna. Våra hotade skyddsänglar. Våra lungor. Granbarkborrar. Skogsbränder. Skövling. Apokalyps. Det lugn vi förlorar i skogsområden som får ge plats åt bostäder, det lugnet får vi bära inom oss.

Vi flyttar ut i skogen, där är vi trygga, vi har våra möten där, skyddade från farliga virus. Vi flyttar in skogen i våra hem, vi odlar i städerna, vi byter fröer på nätet. I svåra tider är det dit vi går, till skogarna, för tröst och andning.

När du kommer in på utställningen kommer du in i skogen. Höga, vertikala dukar med träd som skymtar mellan rummen, och reser sig fritt på de högsta väggarna. Mellan träden finns porträtt av människor i skogsmiljö, individer med sina attribut och sin längtan. Runt dig hörs skogsljuden, känns dofterna av barr och våt mark.

Forest Yearning

The private spaces we need in our troubled times can increasingly often be found outdoors. And the urge to find that same peaceful quality in our home is strong.

In my ongoing art project Jag längtar skogarna/Forest yearning I am exploring how we can build the forests anew, through art. We can find our own private sanctuaries even in small spaces, searching for what is essential for our well-being. Such as the forest. The trees, our lungs, our guardians - now endangered in so many ways. 

Through my paintings I want to work with the boundaries between fact and fiction, to see whether art not only can find strength in nature, but also give strength to nature, through raising awareness in a way that is also soothing and beautiful. Portraits of trees, portraits of people in forests. Portraits of yearning, and of finding peace.

When I was looking for a venue for the exhibition “Forest Yearning,” I wanted a space with generous ceiling height, beautiful irregular rooms, and preferably some pillars — so I could enhance the feeling that visitors were moving through a forest: here stands a tree, there another, people walking among them, and over there, is that a clearing?

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Kulturhuset in Ytterjärna met all those wishes and more. When they heard about the idea for the exhibition, they immediately said yes, and I received the measurements of the enormous wall surfaces. Some of the paintings had already been created for the pilot exhibition in Hässelby, but most of the works were painted specifically for the Ytterjärna venue. I ordered stretchers and canvas in the exact dimensions I wanted and painted several series of trees and forests.

The largest canvas — 4 by 2 meters — I stretched and primed on site. I made the first brushstrokes during the opening and the last ones on the final day of the exhibition.

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The smaller paintings were created in different parts of Sweden, from Dala-Floda to Simrishamn.

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Most of the forest scenes, however, were painted in the Stockholm area, where I live — the trees outside my studio in Bromma, or the woods on various islands in the Stockholm archipelago.

The triptych below was painted on the small island of Kumla Storholmen. It sparked an idea that I would like to develop further at some point. I would need to spend quite some time on this little island, which lies in Lake Mälaren between Hässelby and Lovön, and paint the view from the edge of the forest all around it.

Visitors would find themselves on the island, the spectator would BE the island. The paintings would be displayed in a circular room, or in a larger space. Like Monet’s water lilies, the work would form a 360-degree artwork that completely surrounds the viewer from every direction.

Painting of a serene landscape with a lake, green trees, and a cloudy sky, viewed from under tree branches.
Painting of a large tree with green leaves in a pond surrounded by smaller trees, with a blue sky in the background.
A painting of a large, mature tree with a thick trunk and lush green foliage, situated near a body of water with a backdrop of smaller trees and greenery.

The four-meter-high pine stands just outside the exhibition space. As usual, I began with a smaller sketch on site, outdoors by the tree. I then painted the large piece from that sketch, returning to the real tree each morning to make additional observations.

Painting of a tall tree with green leaves and a brown trunk, set against a cloudy, gray sky backdrop.

WORKSHOPS

The large painting, along with most of the other works, later moved on to Skarpnäcks Kulturhus, where they were displayed for a few months. Before and during the exhibitions, I led workshops with participants of different ages, where visitors painted their own trees — contributing to the ongoing project of painting a forest, a place where the forest is made visible and continues to grow through art.

People gathered around displayed artwork on the floor in an art gallery or exhibit space with wooden floors and long curtains in the background.
Empty stage with a backdrop of a mosaic tile mural depicting a natural scene with trees, rocks, and foliage, framed by white curtains and lit by stage lights.
Group of people standing in a semicircle inside a large hall with blue seating and a wooden floor. The foreground has canvases or paintings laid on the floor, depicting nature scenes with trees and water.

During this workshop, one hundred participants each created a puzzle piece for a huge collage — almost 5 by 6 meters in size. The entire image was completed in just one hour, yet the result was magnificent.