Earthworks 2007

Earthworks 2007 Environmental arts and agriculture experiment on site Site – specific – locally produced?
We consider this direction within contemporary artpractice to be the far most relevant at the moment, and we recognize that its resting on long traditions. One predecessor is legendary Robert Smithson, which can be seen as the one establishing the term “site specific” art. His Earthworks were sited “in the physical, raw reality” and related visually and tactile with the surrounding landscape. For Earthworks 2007, we have selected a varied group of emerging Nordic visual artists that will develop and explore the meanings of site specific works today. The artists we have selected to take part work in various contemporary disciplines, such as web based, graffiti/streetart, performance and social interventions, and will naturally work within their known techniques also here. Sited works in our understanding of the word would be works that are located in a specific place within a system and functions within that system. In the premises of Kultivator, which includes a dairy farm, vegetable fields and sheep and chicken breeding, many small scale systems for production can be found, and new ones are constantly invented. The invited artists will during a week long direct physical work go into these systems and create works that challenge (or confirm) the statements of our predecessors. Long term aim/purpose: With globalized society logic, production as ineffective as in our climate, can hardly be defended except from out esthetical or sentimental view. With strong visual statements from young Nordic artists, in contemporary media, we want to offer images of our agricultural landscape that are not sentimental, but heading forward toward new futures. Re- thinking the globalized trade logic into one that sees things in context, or, if you like, as part of a sustainable system.
Participants
Oscar Guermouche, El Parche, Bengt Olof Johansson, Marlene Lindmark, Benn Sena, Helena Wikestam, Lishar Eshkoly, Randy Albright, Kalle Runesson, Sara Sena da Silva

Ölands souvenir 2007

– for memory) is an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with it. Souvenirs include clothing such as T-shirts or hats, and household items such as mugs and bowls, ashtrays, egg timers, spoons and notepads. They may be marked to indicate their origin: “A Souvenir from Clacton-on-Sea”.
In Japan, souvenirs are known as meibutsu (products associated with a particular region); and omiyage, candies or other edibles to be shared with co-workers. Omiyage sales are big business at Japanese tourist sites.
(Wikipedia)
On the island Öland, where Kultivator is situated, lives approximately 20.000 people all year round, and over one million tourists visits the island in the summer.
The tourist industry is crucial for the economy of the island. One important income for year round Ölanders is the purchase of inexpensive, small thing for tourists to buy; what we call souvenirs. In the exhibition/contest Ölands souvenir 2007, we made an open call for items that would make good souvenirs. People could send in totally new concepts for souvenirs, or just send in a product they already had for sale.
In the exhibition, we are also showing background stories from the maker for each piece, like selling arguments, but here often more personal and/or informastive.
In the regular case, you would choose your favourite souvenir by selecting what to buy. In this exhibition you can vote for the best one by putting a note in a box.
In the autumn, at the harvestfeast of the island, which is the last big tourist attraction before the island ”closes” for winter, we will count the votes and a winner will be named.

Roadkill

Installation/film at local food market, Kalmar.
About the travel of our daily food.

Fluid

Installation at Gallery Stenhallen, Borgholm

Other hydro powers
Lekgruset, Ammerån

Lekgrus i Ammerån, a part of the project Other hydro powers, supported by Swedish arts grants committee. The project connect several rivers and their nearby peoples in Sweden and Canada.

In collaboration with Eco streams for life, Jämtland and Grevåkerskolan Hammerdal.

Lekgrus = spawn gravel, where in Swedish the word for spawn is the same as for play..

From an initial field trip meeting with biologists of the eco streams for life project that restores (amongst others) the river Ammerån, and their explanations to us what they are working on, we especially took with us the word Lekgrus (spawn gravel). The word inspired us to reach out to children living near the river, and together with Grevåkerskolan in Hammerdal, we could set up a collaboration around the river ecosystems, and particularly the way fish use gravel as a nursery for their young.

The school and teachers of 4 classes (60 kids) planned together with us and the biologists a week dedicated to the river in May 2025. In this week we held workshops making tiny sculptures of river clay for the spawning fish together, the children studied river eco systems, the history of rafting in the river, and the life and family making of the trout and other fish. On the last day we went out to Ammerån, and placed the Lekgrus in the river bed.  The biologists from eco streams for life showed us a suitable place, and presented their work with restauration of the river.  For every tiny sculpture that was lowered into the water, a greeting from the young artist to the young fish was written and drawn with watercolor. Many of them was wishing the young fish good luck, and many wished to catch and eat the fish once it was grown up. Which would be about the same time as the human kids would be young adults. Given, of course, that Ammerån still runs healthy and alive between Solbergsvattnet and Indalsälven then.f