Den Ensamma Prinsessan/The Lonely Princess
2024
Acrylic glass, wood, metallic hangers
Fairy tales are a fascinating medium that can explain complex behaviors, stories, and traditions in an educational way. Like Astrid Lindgren, who with The Brothers Lionheart introduced and demystified death for young children.
The background to my first solo exhibition, The Lonely Princess, is the fairy tales, and I want to use that storytelling to depict the story of contemporary humans in a simplified way. What it is like to navigate the world as a young person when it feels like expectations and norms belong to a bygone era, like an old conservative kingdom, while at the same time relating to modern things such as social media, sexual freedom, and body ideals.
The technique, a mix of wood and dyed acrylic glass, is an ongoing exploration to create contemporary stained glass. It has historically been associated with religious and prudish motifs. My ambition is to take this decorative technique, in an updated lasercut acrylic glass form, and combine it with contemporary themes and societal challenges.
After my studies in London last year, I have been drawn to the Scandinavian tradition of fairy tales and folklore and have gained an appreciation for wood and how it can be combined with colored acrylic glass. The idea that part of my artworks would decompose in nature, while the other part would remain long after my own death is thrilling. Like our bodies will decompose while our digital footprint will remain long after, representing the contrasts that I am so often drawn to in my art.
The Lonely Princess is exhibited at VIDA Museum on Öland in Sweden from July 6 to September 29, 2024. An exhibition consisting of eleven works, made with the technique of acrylic glass and wood.
