Borderland

Using landscape painting as a lens, we can see our relationship to nature and ourselves through different times. Today, issues of national identity and belonging as depicted through art and culture have once again been brought up in Swedish politics. Borderland problematizes the role of landscape painting in relation to notions of a culturally homogeneous, original place in the past and how artistic representations have been used to create a sense of belonging.

Malmö Konstmuseums part of the exhibition

At Malmö Konstmuseum, the exhibition focuses on the years between 1850 and 1915, when urbanization and industrialization pick up speed in Sweden and increasing numbers of people leave the country for a life in the growing cities. The countryside and depictions of it become a backdrop for all that is unchanging and safe in an uncertain time. Modernization also means that a national consciousness is being formed. The people are supposed to become united under a shared concept of Swedishness, and artistic depictions of Sweden’s landscapes are used as tools in this process. But certain landscapes and motifs are seen as not “Swedish” enough to fit in – among them the Scanian plains. In Scania, though, a strong local patriotism grows forth, which is strengthened by landscape painting, museum collections and exhibition programs.

Ystads konstmuseums part of the exhibition

At Ystads konstmuseum, Borderland focuses on the first half of the 1900s and five landscape painters who are well represented in the collections. Here, their paintings meet contemporary works that examine questions of place and identity. In this encounter, we catch a glimpse of how cultural heritage impacts our view of the landscape and the countryside today.

Images of the landscape not only come from art, but also from contexts such as advertising and marketing. Stereotypical images of Scania are used to attract tourists and investors. Landscape images are also employed in political campaigns, both to communicate hopes for a greener future and conservative ideas about how life was better in the past.

The exhibition is a part of Flatlands – a network for the artistic examination of Scania.

Curators: Julia Björnberg, Anna Johansson & Ellen Klintenberg
Research: Emma Juel Justesen & Jeff Werner
Curator of the section on Carl August Ehrensvärd: Emma Reichert