SWIM, 2024

solid maple, solid birch, stoneware, natural hair, polyester, terry, steel, video

SWIM is an installation featuring four sculptures and a video projection. As part of the Craft Days Biennial in Gothenburg 2024, SWIM was exhibited in a room between the two large swimming pools at Valhallabadet, which has long been a burning political issue due to threats of demolition. Art and craft enthusiasts, dressed in their clothes, mingled with wet swimmers in the exhibition space. The project was also presented at Nordic Art Agency as part of the Southern Sweden Design Days in Malmö 2024.

SWIM is a project about the swimming pool by designer/woodworker Evelina Björnqvist and choreographer/dancer Ida Kjällquist. SWIM amplifies a seemingly everyday place, focusing on the details of the experiences it offers. It presents a remarkable combination of exercise, relaxation, and disgust.
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The swimming pool's unique walking style: I place my whole foot down to avoid slipping on the thin layer of water on the floor. Someone still slips.

I don't even bring a towel in because I can't be bothered to think about where to hang it, I just go straight in.

In the mid-20th century, as part of the welfare state, many swimming pools were built in Sweden. With a lifespan of about 50 years, municipalities now face the costly decision of whether to renovate, build new, or even close them down. This raises questions about the swimming pool's impact on society and swimmers then, now, and in the future. The swimming pool is a unique meeting place that promotes swimming skills for residents of a country with long coastlines and many lakes. The history of Sweden's swimming pools is the story of a society that wants to make our coastal landscapes accessible to everyone who lives here. Is that era now being replaced by another?

Someone else's hair by my toes. Someone else's pee that I swim through. Someone else's butt where I just sat.

Through various artistic languages, SWIM explores the swimming pool's significance, from its societal role to its personal and physical aspects. The transformation from solid to liquid and from heavy to weightless, in a functionally oriented atmosphere carried by specific objects and materials.

Too naked for new interactions, but I still have to relate to the others. ‍Who should I get behind, and how do we create a quiet and smooth flow? Where do I fit in? Am I fast enough for the fast lane? ‍

At first, it always feels cold, but once in, I become agile, the body becomes invisible and shapeless.

The seventh, now I'm on the eighth, the previous one was odd, now I'm on even. If I lose count, I allways round up.

Idea/concept and project management: Evelina Björnqvist and Ida Kjällquist
Design and craftsmanship: Evelina Björnqvist
Choreography and dance: Ida Kjällquist
Video work: Åsa Båve
Photography: Sebastian Waldenby
Graphic design: Emilia Wärff

With support from Gothenburg's Cultural Committee, KulturUngdom, IFÖ Center.

Special thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on the swimming pool, Valhallabadet, Kristinedals Träningscenter, Folkteatern Göteborg, and Atelier Nord.

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The fickle shoe rack - concepts around hallway things and their choreographic impact, 2022

solid maple, solid birch, stoneware, glazes, arenga fibre, zipper, textile ribbon

The installation is based on the idea of the hallways’ act in a home as an intermezzo - a short dramatic, musical, or light characterful performance inserted between the acts of a drama or opera. With a scenographic view and a conceptual approach, I have explored the hallways’ components in correlation with our subconscious routines within that room. The project aims to discover everyday life choreographies with the material world and challenge the hallways’ practical tone. The wooden and ceramic objects are created with a focus on sensory experiences and particularly their sounds, which together play the hallways’ symphony.
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The project was made in collaboration with choreographer and dancer Ida Kjällquist.

swim, 2024

solid maple, solid birch, stoneware, natural hair, polyester, terry, steel

SWIM is an installation featuring four sculptures and a video projection. As part of the Craft Days Biennial in Gothenburg 2024, SWIM was exhibited in a room between the two large swimming pools at Valhallabadet, which has long been a burning political issue due to threats of demolition. Art and craft enthusiasts, dressed in their clothes, mingled with wet swimmers in the exhibition space. The project was also presented at Nordic Art Agency as part of the Southern Sweden Design Days in Malmö 2024.

SWIM is a project about the swimming pool by designer/woodworker Evelina Björnqvist and choreographer/dancer Ida Kjällquist. SWIM amplifies a seemingly everyday place, focusing on the details of the experiences it offers. It presents a remarkable combination of exercise, relaxation, and disgust.
‍
The swimming pool's unique walking style: I place my whole foot down to avoid slipping on the thin layer of water on the floor. Someone still slips.

I don't even bring a towel in because I can't be bothered to think about where to hang it, I just go straight in.

In the mid-20th century, as part of the welfare state, many swimming pools were built in Sweden. With a lifespan of about 50 years, municipalities now face the costly decision of whether to renovate, build new, or even close them down. This raises questions about the swimming pool's impact on society and swimmers then, now, and in the future. The swimming pool is a unique meeting place that promotes swimming skills for residents of a country with long coastlines and many lakes. The history of Sweden's swimming pools is the story of a society that wants to make our coastal landscapes accessible to everyone who lives here. Is that era now being replaced by another?

Someone else's hair by my toes. Someone else's pee that I swim through. Someone else's butt where I just sat.

Through various artistic languages, SWIM explores the swimming pool's significance, from its societal role to its personal and physical aspects. The transformation from solid to liquid and from heavy to weightless, in a functionally oriented atmosphere carried by specific objects and materials.

Too naked for new interactions, but I still have to relate to the others. ‍Who should I get behind, and how do we create a quiet and smooth flow? Where do I fit in? Am I fast enough for the fast lane? ‍

At first, it always feels cold, but once in, I become agile, the body becomes invisible and shapeless.

The seventh, now I'm on the eighth, the previous one was odd, now I'm on even. If I lose count, I always round up.

Idea/concept and project management: Evelina Björnqvist and Ida Kjällquist
Design and craftsmanship: Evelina Björnqvist
Choreography and dance: Ida Kjällquist
Video work: Åsa Båve
Photography: Sebastian Waldenby
Graphic design: Emilia Wärff

With support from Gothenburg's Cultural Committee, KulturUngdom, IFÖ Center.

Special thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on the swimming pool, Valhallabadet, Kristinedals Träningscenter, Folkteatern Göteborg, and Atelier Nord.