The works in the exhibition Our House is on Fire! highlight dangerous manufacturing processes of metals that are dangerous to both people and the environment. In order to draw attention to the problem, the works send alarming signals that reinforce the experience that something isn't right in our world. Film, painting and installation are on display.

Using warning signs in yellow and black, Leif Elggren's spatial installation conveys the feeling of stepping into a hazardous zone. Monica Larsson and Catrin Lundqvist's installation and film tell the story of the Rönnskärsverken, whose pollution resulted in devastating consequences for the surrounding areas. Thomas Watkiss' painting of a lost natural world and sourced from local materials directly testifies to the vulnerability of nature.

As early as the 1960s, biologist Rachel Carson pointed out how one person's use of pesticides becomes another person's poison. In her book Silent Spring, she describes this series of events based on an analysis of the food chain and strongly criticizes the use of pesticides in agriculture. The book is considered to be the spark that ignited the environmental movement.

We do not seem to be moving forward with the problem, but continue to shift the responsibility to future generations. The dilemma surrounding environmental poisoning and how this continue to affect our environment in combination with toxic political agendas has contributed greatly to the problematic situation we now find ourselves in.

Our House is on Fire! was a recurring call out of the then 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg in the speech that began at The Economic Forum in Davos in 2019. At that time, she addressed world-leading politicians and economists who should be in a position to act against the devastation of life on the planet. All that which is at stake for humans and animals, especially due to fossil fuel emissions. Her strength in speech and action has influenced the theme of this exhibition.

Leif Elggren's art gives the exhibition conceptual strength and weight in collaboration with Thomas Watkiss's dystopian painting. The meeting between the works is tied together by the urgent tones in both artists' works, like clear and loud cries of warning! Monica Larsson and Catrin Lundqvist exhibit parts of the project Röken skulla blåsa mot ryssen, which deals with industrial emissions that are harmful to the health and its relation to economic prosperity. Thomas Watkiss has also contributed music to the film of the same name.

About the artists and the curator:

Thomas Watkiss is a multidisciplinary artist, interested in shaping environments with sound and painting. In his painting, he creates new ecologies where bird creatures adapt to new and unfamiliar landscapes. During trips in nature, he gathers sound recordings and photographs scenes that inform his work.

Monica Larsson works with film, photography, painting and sculpture. Her art is about perception and navigation in relation to time and space. She's interested in the interpersonal significance of art, where communication finds a language that goes beyond the spoken and written words.

Since 2019, Catrin Lundqvist has been collaborating with Monica Larsson on the project Röken skulla blåsa mot ryssen / The Smoke Should Blow Towards the Russians, which is about the Rönnskär smelter in Skelleftehamn. It is an investigation of the history of the industry and the consequences of its emissions.

Leif Elggren is a conceptual artist. Accessing hidden meanings by eliciting sounds from material and immaterial phenomena is one of his main artistic tracks. He has claimed the right to Black & Yellow in all its possible forms and worlds where the pattern can be found, since 1977.

Cecilia Andersson is an internationally active freelance curator. In 2024, she curated the exhibition Röken skulla blåsa mot ryssen at Skellefteå Museum, then as director of Museum Anna Nordlander/MAN in Skellefteå.

Program:

Friday 22 August at 5-10 pm. Opening reception. The exhibition is inaugurated at 6 pm by curator Cecilia Andersson.

Saturday 30 August at 2-2.30 pm. Guided tour.

Saturday 6 September at 2-2.30 pm. Guided tour.

Sunday 7 September at 5-7 pm. Extended opening hours for screening of the film Livet Döden Konsten Makten, by Erik Pauser. A film about Leif Elggren. Q&A och bar.

Saturday 13 September at 2-2.30 pm. Guided tour.

Sunday 14 September at 5-7 pm. Closing reception with extended opening hours for screening of the film Röken skulle blåsa mot ryssen by Monica Larsson and Catrin Lundqvist. Q&A and bar.

Press images