During the fall of 2023 and the spring of 2024 I took part in the course Research Lab Craft! at Konstfack University College of Arts and Craft, Stockholm. The project I worked with is described in the publication “In The Making: The Crack That Lets The Light In”. Konstfack Edition. (ISBN: 978-91-85549-58-0), and can be found here: https://konstfack.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:185933. I also have some copies left of the printed book, if you would like to order one.
In the nature reserve Hågadalen-Nåsten on the outskirts of Uppsala, near where I live, there is a forest area that was ravaged by fire in May 2023. I have used the place as a starting point for a series of artistic explorations with the aim to reflect on my relationship with the forest in general and this area in particular. I would like to see this writing as a fictive walk through the forest, following a meandering path describing things I relate to the forest, the context of my work, and my artistic process. I’m using the idea of “wandering” through the physical site, as well as the idea of the place, trying to unfold previous experiences and memories, combine them with new knowledge and connect them through material and artistic practice.
The text starts with the section ”Entering the forest” where I’m describing my personal and artistic background and the context of my work, and of my forest project. I continue by ”Mapping the site”, where I describe the constitution of the specific forest area that I’ve been in dialogue with. In the section ”Fire and Ashes” I’m in dialogue with an ecologist specialized on forest fire, but also touching on the ceramicists relation to, and maybe love of, fire in connection to ceramic practice and traditional wood firing. In ”The ground” I am writing about the artists and researchers that have inspired me and helped shape the way I position my self within the field and think about my own practice in regard to artistic research. I then go on by describing the different artistic explorations carried out in and in relation to, the post-fire forest area: The Clearing, Walks, Annual rings, Bark, Ashes and Thickets, Stones and Moss, reflecting on my process and ideas that came up while working.
”I have brought clay with me out into the woods, but always trying to make sure to leave as few traces behind as possible, leaving things untouched, trying not to break or destroy things on my path forward. While writing this, I am still aware of the fact that my life and practice inevitably leave traces and imprints, and there is no way to fully avoid exploitation. Still, one of the core questions of this project has been to understand the constitutions of the place by looking at all that surrounds me in the forest without letting my presence disturb too much.
I don’t have an academic background, on the contrary I am deeply rooted in material practice, but at the same time reading and writing is almost always part of my work process. During this last year the writing has been equal to the making, allowing me to go both deeper in to my subjects, but also to linger and expand on things that trigger my interest and inspire me. Writing this text has been much like a journey, going from past to present, stepping back to get perspective, and then going back into the details, stopping at points of interest and trying to look deeper. The artistic explorations and the clay work, the time in the studio and in the forest, and the process of reading and writing have equally opened doors to new perspectives and knowledge.
