|
Anders
Hultman
__________________________________________ Separatutställningar i urval: Utsmyckningsuppdrag - skulptur: Utsmyckningsuppdrag - måleri
(flertal sammanhängande): Representerad i ett flertal kommuner och landsting Aktuella utställningar: _____________________________________________ "Bus stop Harg" (the sacrificial altar) The exhibition "Bus stop Harg" is about a small community, Harg, on the east coast of Sweden. It is a project I have been working on for about three years, a personal documentation of a small "dead", or sleeping , village. So far I have made about 350 paintings with the ambition of showing every inch of it in all seasons, times of the day etc. The show will contain 100 - 150 small paintings (13 x 18 cm) striktly formed in tight groups, and is more of an installation of paintings, a mosaic, all though every individual painting has its own specific caracter. Harg Harg means sacrificial altar. The church from the fourteenth century was built on a former Viking place of sacrifice. The area of Sweden, where Harg is located is known for its iron works. During the period of 1650 - 1900 the "worlds best" iron, the oregrund iron, was produced here. In Harg the iron work, Hargs bruk, was grounded in 1668. n 1719 Russia attacked the swedish iron works. In Harg everything exept the church was burned down. From 1730 the ironwork was rebuilt and it was in progress to 1921 when it closed down. The forrest became the the main income source and a sawmill was established. It became silent in 1962 as well as the community. Today Hargs bruk is a modern and prosperous forestry that only need about 20 employees. At the peek in the end of 1800 there lived about 4000 people in Harg, now it´s 200, mostly old people. There is no public service as schools, medical care, restaurangs an d post office etc. The grocery shop finally closed down two years ago after several bankruptcies. Almoswt everything in Harg was built 1730 - 1920. Today, the industrial buildings from the iron works still are kept in very good condition, as well as the dwelling houses. These are above all rented to persons connected to Hargs bruk, former iron mill workers, their children and grandchildren etc, who use them during the summer vacations. This gives a feeling of a community where the time has been standing still, where the people and their activities is gone but the visual structure remains the same. Where the pace is low. And where the visitors unite in memories of the past. Living in Harg is kind of living in a museum.
You find these communities all over the world, places you pass on your way to larger cities. Places of no importans where the full life activities has transformed into memories and meditation. They are booth exotic and well known to us and they are offering values contradictory those of our modern high speed society. As the world is getting smaller our sacrifices tends to get bigger. It is easy to get lost and the roots, the belongings, how minor they may be, becomes more and more important. That is the ground theme. The sacrificial altar. On the other hand the visual form of the exhibition talks another language. Hundres of paintings from a non important community in nowhere. A manic, frantic, approach to reach the traditions, history and low pace lost. Can´t feel the flow and can´t enjoy because of the busy, nervousa shadow of the search. This big city persons not succeded longing for the calm and the quiet. The evoke taste for experience, action and extremes. The paradise lost. The sacrificial alter.
|
|
