Absorbed by the installation, but increasingly unable to formulate what it is that I am attracted to, I contact the artist. So my first question to Gustaf Nordenskiöld starts with the basics: 

What is Site No.16 Inked?

It's an installation of 41 objects, in a real white cube: the space measure 8 x 8 x 8 meters has white walls and no windows. The objects hang separately from the high ceiling. It is the third version of a project I have been exploring in two previous exhibitions, at Stene Projects Gallery in Stockholm and in Paris at Galerie Nec. Here, as the title indicates, many of the objects, most of them in ceramics, are painted.

A Swedish archaeologist, who had the same name as me, did field work in the 19th century in Mesa Verde in the USA. Site No. 16 Inked is fictitious, but at the same time it draws heavily on the real event. This is my exploration and presentation of objects that could have been found in this archaeological site. They are all my own creations.

There’s a dynamic within the installation, between the repeated forms, like chains and rounds. Are these individual pieces?

They are. They all have their own specific story, and they make a new story all together. Each object has an individual title, often related to the likely use of the object.

Some of the titles are very poetic. Unspecified objects, for example, really sparks off the imagination. Several objects are very attractive, and could surely stand in their own right. Are they for sale?

I am glad you like the individual pieces. Even so, in this context I see them as a collection. I haven’t thought about them one by one in that sense, and I haven't even decided what will happen to the work after the show closes in September.

---

For the art-hungry one! Gustaf Nordenskiöld is in Stockholm, to give a guided tour of the exhibition, on 24 August at 2pm. The event includes a free bus ride to his outdoor installation Circus Sågen, located in a park, Sågparken, on the island of Vendelsö. To reserve a seat on the bus and eat al fresco in the park for no additional cost, email Artworks on hey@artworks.io or Anna Ahlstrand directly at anna.ahlstrand@haninge.se.

Site No. 16 Inked, at Haninge konsthall, until September 9, 2017.

Gustaf Nordenskiöld is represented by Stene Projects Gallery in Stockholm and Galerie Nec in Paris. To find out more, please click here.