Malin Pettersson Öberg

2007, 4 screen-printed textile banners, 400-600cm x 135cm, graduation project at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm

My graduation project takes the history and site of the Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design as its point of departure. The surrounding area of Hägersten was shaped by the establishment of the Ericsson Phone factory there in the 1940’s, a building in which Konstfack now resides. Ylva Eggehorn describes the area and the post-war ambiance of the 1950’s in her book Kvarteret Radiomottagaren, as she experienced it during her childhood, through a poetic language and a narration grounded in the personal experience. I ran into this writer when reading OEI’s Omkopplingar, an amazing archival publication equally exploring the area of Hägersten. After having selected my literary source, I transferred quotes from the novel to banners on two of the university buildings. In this way, the intimate messages were displaced from a literary format to a public environment, enabling other types of readings and encounters with art and literature, than the gallery space. My main goal was to create a link to the history of the site: a form of voice from the past, that would enable a shift of temporal perspective and perception of the site. I also sold Ylva Eggehorn’s book Kvarteret Radiomottagaren to a non-profit price as part of my exhibition presentation, as a way to lift this fantastic author to a young audience.

The work was presented in a solo exhibition at Wip:Konsthall in Stockholm (October 2007), an art space and studio building in Årstaberg close to Hägersten, to where I was invited by curator Karolina Pahlén. I also showed one banner in a solo exhibition at Galleri Hörnan in Falun, Sweden, 2008.

Konstfack Graduation Show 2007