Project: Kända och Okända Kroppars Utbredning (Known and Unknown Bodies Expansion) was a part of the course
Creative Research Processes at University College of Arts Crafts and Design, Department of Fine Art, Stockholm, Sweden 2010.
Project name Kända och Okända kroppars Utbredning ( Known and Unknown Bodies Expansion) refers partly to actual human bodies, but also to the physical object that has an extent, a body.
But it also refers to the memories, or partially forgotten, fragmented memories, which also has an extent to take place in consciousness.
The main purpose of my text work, which is one of the components of the project, is to highlight what is happening to me in relation to what I create. The second part is more of an artistic work that relates to my memories. It has been important, as a working method, to work parallel with the text and interpretation. This parallell approach has meant that the text has a meaning beyond its function in the project, it is also part of the artistic work.
Download essay (swedish) link →
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The project has a strong sense of self, but there is implicitly an assumption that I rely on my fellow man, the other, to catch sight of myself. During the project’s progress an issue has emerged which problematizes the act of recalling.
What is it I reconstruct when I remember the other one?
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In my project I have chosen to work with three deceased relatives as representatives of the other. What is the interaction with people who no longer exists? Can you talk about interaction? I introduce them in my work by retelling memories and dreams in relation to them. It is my language, my choice of words, my stories. This means that the project has a form of narrative structure as structural elements.
Who were they, who are they?
Herein lies a shift that is substantial in my work. Herein lies a shift that is deeply linked to the unique relationship between people: the change from who we were and who we are. By telling memories, the mapping of my family reveals my image of them and ultimately reveals myself.
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Both the truth and understanding, in the narrow sense, are concepts that close the door for interpretations. When memories are involved, people claim how it was back then. It upholds so to speak links over large areas that are white spots on the map with reference to the memory. In this sense such narratives has a limiting function. I want my work to create a broader field of understanding by the movement dealing with issues instead of setting a permanent meaning, and show the story’s ability to recall. Memories and dreams are in many ways coded messages that require work to be interpreted.
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