Soft meets hard in this year's Avesta exhibition: 'A tension arises'

The annual "Avesta art" exhibition in Sweden this year features eight artists exploring the intricate connections between our bodies, nature, and technology throughout history. Housed within the historic industrial halls of the old ironworks, the exhibition aims to foster a dialogue where the art and the venue enhance each other, rather than the industrial environment merely serving as a backdrop.

Curated by Karolina Aastrup and Sona Stepanyan, the exhibition "Earthly bodies born of love" is set against the backdrop of Avesta ironworks, a site with a history dating back to the 1870s. The venue itself, now known as Verket, functions as a museum of iron production and has also served as a contemporary art arena since the 1990s. This year's edition brings together artists of varied nationalities and artistic expressions, all united by their investigation into the relationships between the human body, technology, and materiality.

“

The biggest challenge was to create a dialogue where the art and the place could reinforce each other without the industrial environment just becoming a dramatic backdrop. Or that the works disappeared in the architecture. At the same time, that's what makes the place so special – that the history is constantly felt.

Their works delve into aspects of life often overlooked in daily routines, such as signal traffic, satellites, energy flows, and geological processes. The curators highlight a shared interest among the artists in how larger systems shape our lives. "For us, 'Earthly bodies born of love' is not about romantic love, but about love as a connecting force," Aastrup explained. "In this way, our bodies and our lives are always in the wake of previous people's dreams, work, and ambitions."

Visitors journey through the vast industrial space, navigating iron beams and furnaces. At the highest point, Finnish artist Tuomas A. Laitinen presents an installation featuring film and sound. His video work, "The earth is the ear of the bear," is accompanied by a pulsating, indefinable sound emitted through ultrasonic speakers, creating a unique sensory experience within the historic setting.

“

For us, 'Earthly bodies born of love' is not about romantic love, but about love as a connecting force. In this way, our bodies and our lives are always in the wake of previous people's dreams, work, and ambitions.