Exhibitions & projects
"On grief, magic, and humor" is a project exhibition at Växjö Art Hall featuring artists Ingela Johansson and Elin Sundström, who delve into the topic of care through questions about humor, grief, and art in healthcare environments. In their respective practices, the artists work situationally and in close dialogue with place, showing an interest in issues of care and narratives.
Since January 2023, they have been working on behalf of Region Kronoberg with the aim of providing an artistic perspective on the planning of a new hospital building in Räppe. The project has been in an early construction phase and concerned with examining the existing Central Hospital CLV in relation to a proposed relocation and the cultural and natural values of the new site. When the regional council decided in June 2023 not to proceed with the hospital construction in Räppe, the artists were in the final phase of their assignments. The situation for healthcare in the region remains relevant, and the hospital situation is seeking new solutions and alternatives. In the project, the artists have had different approaches to the care issue that provide perspectives on social care, the relationship between humans and the natural environment, culture as a resource in healthcare from a broad perspective, as well as the social aspects of a transformation process. In this way, the artists' work forms a foundation for other projects within the same field, namely the role of art in healthcare and at care locations.
Conversations with the operation and place-based explorations have led the artists to archaeological traces within the national interest of Bergkvara, ancient cosmologies, and deep time perspectives on care. The work has also raised questions about the existence of humor in healthcare today and the impact of shifting cultural policies on the artist's assignment in public healthcare environments, and how it ultimately affects users, staff, and relatives.
The exhibition aims to create dialogue about care based on interpersonal values, art, existential health, and humanity's relationship with its natural environment today and in the future. Of sorrow, magic arts, and humor is one of several temporarily shaped and public events by Ingela Johansson and Elin Sundström commissioned by Region Kronoberg in collaboration with ArtPlatform and curator Sara Rossling.
At the vernissage on August 25, an artist talk will be held in the exhibition. Among the art objects stemming from research and site work, Elin Sundström invites artist colleague Sigrid Holmwood to a conversation about folklore, magical objects, and the potentially positive impact of contemporary humans on their surroundings. Sigrid Holmwood's work is based on research regarding the production of colors from plants and their colonial histories. She has a persona that she calls "The Peasant Painter" which explores the contrast between the peasant figure that has been used in various parts of Europe to construct national romanticism, and peasants who themselves were painters.
On September 9, "A Careful Humoresque on the Situation in Healthcare" will be held, an entertaining yet exploratory event by artist Ingela Johansson with invited guests, focusing on the occurrence and use of humor in healthcare from an artistic perspective. Read more about the event at the link below or under the program tab.
