Photo: Daniel Strandroth
Inför sömnens tillförlitliga trygga bladverk(2023)
250 x 240 cm
One pair of curtains linen fabric with representative leave
The border with nature is always visible and tangible when we face the landscape, the home, and culture in our everyday life. In this work, I have engaged with the spatial object of the curtain, which both shuts out the outside world and filters the light of the landscape. The soft texture of the linen fabric creates a sense of safety and coziness within our homes, serving as a gentle threshold between interior and exterior worlds. The curtains are adorned with patterns of green foliage, representing leaves from the Ornäsbirch (Ornäsbjörken).
This particular species cannot survive without human intervention and must be propagated through cuttings. The Ornäsbirch, Sweden’s national tree, is a familiar presence in many of our urban environments and parks across the country. Through this work, I aim to make visible the presence of nature within our everyday environments while simultaneously reflecting on our complex relationship with the landscape beyond our walls.
Inspired by reflections on landscape, where the intersection of human culture and the natural world creates an ongoing dialogue, this piece highlights how nature is both shaped by and shapes our lives. My concept reminds us that landscapes are not merely backdrops but active participants in our existence, shaped by memory, intervention, and perception. By incorporating the Ornäsbirch—an emblem of human stewardship of nature the installation invites viewers to consider the delicate balance between preservation and influence, and how our cultural landscapes are continuously negotiated at the border between nature and home.
The first person to find the Ornäsbjörk was Hans Gustaf Hiordt in 1767 in the village of Ornäs, Dalarna. In connection with the discovery, the discoverer of the tree, Hans Gustaf Hiort, was eventually ennobled as Hiort af Ornäs. The tree was given its Latin name Betula pendula 'Dalecarlica by Carl Von Linné the Younger in 1781 after several years of correspondence.