The stories behind my art: “Another Place”

Another Place, 2007 – digital

2007 was one of the best years of my life. I was totally lost in that magical flow of making art, experimenting, exploring and being creative almost all hours of the day. I was having fun and trying out new techniques and styles.

Only 2 years earlier, I was only painting (see photo below) – and now I was making collages, using mixed media, paintings, drawings and also digital pieces.

A painting from 2005 (“Cries and Whispers” – referring to the 1972 film by Ingmar Bergman.)

Another Place was my first real digital artwork and I finished it in late 2007. I had only used PhotoShop to edit the photos and selfies for my blog for a couple of years, but I had no real training, just playing around and trying stuff out. While making Another Place I could feel how I was growing as an artist and that the digital media was just right for me and my artistic expression. I was just having so much fun!

The work in progress.

Another Place premiered in my solo show at Hera Gallery in Stockholm in January 2008:

And then one month later it showed up in my solo show in Reijmyre outside my hometown:

Even though I had so much fun making Another Place, I made it during one of the hardest times in my life and I was deeply depressed. That’s what the piece is about – that other place in life where only darkness rule.

When I finally came out of my depression, I thought it would be fun to make a new version of Another Place, because I had reached another place in my life. A place where light ruled, and where the colors were brighter. So I created a second version of it in 2012.