Back from my long summer vacation during which I saw some great exhibitions, but lets start where I finished in June: Havremagasinet in Boden.
Their main event was Entry prohibited to foreigners - a title that caused some discussions among visitors as it was read as a political statement regarding the migrant situation in Europe. To some extent the exhibitions was about the current alarming developments on who is allowed to enter Europe and other more prosperous areas of the world, but it also explored other areas of colonialism and (ethnic) injustice.
The exhibition that I will highlight here, however, was the room dedicated to Eva Zettervall. I have been a fan for more than 20 years, so I guess it was inevitable that her work would get a firm grip on me. The above painting, Tatuerade kvinnor av träd och blod där gryningsljuset tränger sig fram [Tattoed women of trees and blood where the morning light breaks through], is just one example of Zettervall's huge paintings. The vibrant and flooding red colour is vital for almost all of the paintings, as is the female characters standing, fighting, protesting, caressing or taking refuge from violence. She calls the exhibition Röda rummet [The Red room] and it has a sibling in another summer exhibition of hers, Julie och Jean [Julie and Jean], in Strömstad. Both are connected to the author August Strindberg (1949-1912), but Zetttervall uses his critique of the bourgeoisie society of the late 19th century in her own way. Her inspiration to political change comes from the flux of feminist movements active today, Röda rummet is dedicated to the activities of the Pussy Riot in Russia and Femen in Ukraine. Their activism is made present in images of protest as well as the ones of the everyday private life. See more of her own words from Havremagasinets homepage:http://english.havremagasinet.se/
Eva Zettervall is not the only feminist artist that has been inspired by the writings of Strindberg, even though he is usually blamed for being misogynist. Also Siri Derkert (1888-1973), who gave him credit for liberating women from the bourgeoise cage, used his works for inspiration. She also made a few portraits of him, one is part of her public work Kvinnopelaren [The female pillar], 1958, at one of the platforms of the Central Station of the Stockholm Underground. The image below is borrowed from Instagram - and you can see part of Derkert's art work in this short film on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwXNTKlGB1w
It is quite clear that misogynist are not safe from feminists!
