Mischief

aghili/karlsson & Edith Hammar

The summer exhibition features aghili/karlsson and Edith Hammar, who explore issues of nationalism, artistic freedom and collective agency. These pressing issues reflect both global political developments and the upcoming elections in Sweden.

The artistic duo aghili/karlsson and Hammar come together for the comprehensive summer exhibition at Röda Sten Konsthall. The exhibition includes installations, sculptures and woodcuts, as well as performances, rituals, and talks in which visitors are invited to participate.

A centerpiece of the exhibition is the installation Hamseda – to sing an anti-nationalist wreath for peace, created by aghili/karlsson, and activated by the Art Collective Ful through an anti-nationalist programme during the summer. Hamseda is an artwork and a shared space for participation, rest and talks. It consists of documentation of a six-hour performance that took place on Sweden's National Day, 6 June, in front of Röda Sten Konsthall. Hamseda also includes 25 sculptures in a style of “queer allmoge”, inspired by sloyd or Swedish peasant crafts.

Another integral part of Mischief are Edith Hammar’s multifaceted woodcut installations, Discontent Miracles and Arc de Triomphe. In these new works, Hammar explores the historical roots of nationalism and its relationship to gender-nonconforming figures and events. Through woodcuts, textiles and sculpture, the artist traces motifs from political protest and theoretical concepts to historical narratives of civil disobedience and resistance.

Together, aghili/karlsson and Hammar create an exhibition that raises questions about how art can contribute to reclaiming political agency and imagining other ways of living together.

Mischief opened on 13 June; the exhibition Magnet by Elisa Florimond opens on the Konsthall’s third floor at the same time.