Tuija Lindström was a strong profile within Swedish photography. She belonged to the wave of photographers who in the late 1970s and 80s began experimenting with old fototekniker and abandoned the prevailing dokumentärfotografin for a more subjective, artistic imagery. As a professor at the Fotohögskolan in Gothenburg, sweden 1992-2002 became Lindström godmother for a whole generation of photo-based artists, in particular women – Julia Peirone belongs to the most well known.
Now, meet the teacher and the student for the first time in dialogutställning, ”The bright darkness” at Åmells konsthandel. Tuija Lindström’s focus on the sensual (but never sexualised) female body goes again with Peirone. But where the former usually worked with adult women, medium format and black-and-white photography as work the later teenage girls, in color and larger format.
Tuija Lindström, ”the Neck”. Photo: Tuija Lindström
by Tuija Lindström, who sadly died just over a year ago, is limited by what is included in Åmells collection. But here are several of her classics, such as älvlika Mirja with the våfflade hair and a series of softade aktstudier with erotic innuendos. As well as some prints from the acclaimed series ”the Women at the Tjursjön”.
The scene I love the most is ”Karin II”, which floats in the lake, curled up in a fetal position and whose black hårman winds like sea grass over the white skin. The mood is dreamy poem but at the same time have a dark undersug – she enjoys of the bath or is the death of Ophelia?
the female bodies in fluid motion and a multi-layered expression is Tuija Lindström’s most obvious legacy to Julia Peirone. In a decade, has Peirone gone in depth with the vulnerable pubertetsflickan as a motif. Ambivalence of the brytningstiden between the security of childhood and the uncertain kvinnoblivandet, the gap between the tillkämpad perfection and the inevitable short-comings.
Julia Peirone, ”Bubble girl” Photo: Julia Peirone
images from several famous series – and the result is a beautiful, definitely worth seeing exhibition. But the dialogue with Lindström, their mutual exchange, could have been clearer about the curator Niclas Östlind have been able to choose more freely.
Östlind has also curated an exhibition on and with photo books on the CFF, where both Tuija Lindström and Julia Peirone is irreplaceable. The Swedish fotobokens history has Östlind explored also in the book – and sweden, norway, in the ”Published: Photobooks in Sweden” (Koenig Books).
the Topic is far more interesting than it sounds. And has resulted in a generous, nicely presented exhibition, where you may freely browse all 215 books.
a number of significant photographers, in-demand and even internationally, and the interest to publish in book form is extensive. The photographic book is described as a own visningsplats and ”culture”, with the photographers, publishers, collectors, festivals, fairs. Around the exhibition is also the programme is unusually rich.
Read more about the program:
the Selection of books has three central themes: Society, Self, and Image. The point is the width and the pictorial richness, to immerse yourself in the world between the covers and dream away to distant countries as well as into the womb where a child is born. Here you can also look at the more dubious missions, Lotten von düben’s trips to Lapland in the 1860s and 70s, where she assisted his kraniesamlande husband with photographs of the sami people.
installation view: with photo books on the CFF Photo: Pelle Kronestedt
The rarities which previously was shown at the Hasselblad center is not on the CFF, but there are still plenty of both existing and future classic: Lennart Olsson’s, bridges, Christer strömholm’s ”the Friends of Place Blanche”, Agneta Ekman’s ”Tall-Maja”, Anders Peterséns ”Café Lehmitz”, dawid’s ”Rust”, Maria Miesenbergers ”sverige/Sweden”, Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin’s ”Ecce homo”, Bruno Ehrs ”Memoirs of”, Anna Clarén ”Close to home”, just to name a few.
