Memories and travel sketches
How the movie Memory tinted my summer, where I have been, what's coming up and finally some recommendations for your eyes, ears and tastebuds.
I am back in the studio after a long and inspiring vacation. We started right after midsummer by visiting Bergman Week. It is a wonderful film festival in the most stunning setting, the exotic – even for me as a Swede – island of Fårö. The opening screening was an amazing movie that will premiere in Sweden this weekend, called Memory, directed and written by Michel Franco and starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Saarsgard. As with other films I have seen by him this also folds out so beautifully, which makes it impossible for me to write anything at all about without ruining your experience. To quote Michel Franco:
“A movie should only be understood by watching it.”
I will not link to the trailer, because I think it gives away too much, but I can safely tell you, without spoiling, that the movie Memory hit a chord that has tinted my thoughts this summer. How can we believe in memories? And can we see the difference between a weak memory function and unreliable memories?
As we returned home we finally took care of our overfilled attic – twenty years of shoving things upwards, away from sight. I found out that I was saving too much stuff. I had to decide what could be considered a memory and what was junk. Should I only keep memories that give me joy, konmari style, or keep what has mattered in my life, good and bad? I decided to keep some dark moments in a plastic bag in the murkiest corner of the attic and cover it with boxes filled with joy.
In between the sorting of clothes, notebooks, ice skates, old paintings, camping gear, and VHS tapes, we went to Delsjön for a swim. As we walked back we met an old friend. It is an energetic and optimistic friend who always puts a bright smile on my heart with tales and stories delivered with a broad Gothenburgian accent. It turned out our friend had suffered brain damage, due to a cardiac arrest. The memory, short and long, was affected. We stood in the middle of the forest, and as we talked I could see how our friend gathered our information like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. It was as if the pieces flew back and forth between us, and our friend asked us where to put each piece. As soon as a memory appeared from this labor, I could see the eyes spark. –Oh yeah! our friend said. –That’s right!
After an hour or so, we said our goodbyes and went on with our walk. It was time to get back to our attic of memories. But after a few steps, we heard our friend calling our names from behind so we turned back. –I need to take a photo of you, so I can be reminded that we met today, our friend said snapping a photo of us in the lush green forest. Then we waved goodbye again and promised to text our friend, to meet again to build a new puzzle – or the same puzzle all over again.
When I stood in our attic again I wondered what I needed for my jigsaw puzzle. Which memories would I miss the most, if I lost access to them?
We also traveled to Rab in Croatia this summer to visit our friends Robert and Geska, and their daughter Katja. Their house is a one-of-a-kind artistic family project. Everything there has its special connection to a person, a place, or an art project. You can say it is heavy with memories. Still, the home moves forward every day, creating new memories with people visiting from all over, sharing moments of stories and food. I am honored we were invited to make new memories in this home.
I kept my travel sketchbook close at hand during my trips and here are some of the sketches:
Coming up
Open Studio
I will show my work, including sketches and originals from Addis afro. There will also be prints for sale and book signing.
August 31 from 11.00 at Stålverksgatan 2, Ringön, Gothenburg.
Cosmetic Demons
I will get a haircut. Well, that may not be considered newsworthy enough for an illustrator's blog post. But I will get a haircut on a stage during a dance performance. That's new to me at least. So I put that in here anyway, just for the fun of it.
Cosmetic Demons, choreographed by Sindri Runudde, August 28 at Atalante, Gothenburg.
Bildvärld/Gränsland
Last year I went to the illustration festival Bildvärld/Gränsland in Malmö with some friends. It is an intimate and well-organized festival that makes a true effort to bring the whole area of illustration to the table during one day flat. It was wildly inspiring and we all enjoyed it very much.
This year I am happy to tell you that I am invited to give a talk there. It will be about my 100-day projects: Imaginary Places, and Fortes’ Fauna.
Bildvärld/Gränsland is on Saturday, October 19 at Inkonst in Malmö.
Read more about the illustration festival Bildvärld/Gränsland here.
Try this!
See: Sundown
This is another movie written and directed by Michel Franco starring Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg. I saw Sundown this spring and immediately felt that I wanted to see everything that Michel Franco has made. So far I have seen two movies, Sundown and Memory, and look forward to more. If you live in Sweden, you can stream Sundown at Draken Film, or rent it at TriArtPlay, and SF Anytime.
Listen: Radiooooo
Dance into this autumn with Radiooooo, an app where you can listen to the radio from any place and time. I am not so much into cleaning but when I chose Brazil and paired it with the fifties I found myself sweaty and happy in a clean home in no time. And when I sat down in my sparkling apartment for breakfast the next morning I put on some radio from Mali in the seventies.
Taste: Spaghetti Puttanesca
Here is a recipe I drew for my friends at Rab. Spaghetti Puttanesca is one of my favorite dishes, and this was an attempt to create a recipe in divisions so you can do whatever amount of food from it. So if you want to treat 25 friends, or eat it yourself, this should work as a guide. Try it out and see how you like it.
