Artificial Heights
Installation, 2013
The project "Artificial Heights" looks at artificially constructed elevations in Stockholm. These elevated areas – rubbish tips and hills which are located both in the center of the city as well as in suburbs – are a prime example of city planning between 1950-1980. They provide an alternative way of viewing the growth and development of the city. Today these territories exist on the border between nature and culture – you can find both overgrown parks, well kept Frisbee golf courses as well as future ski slopes among them. The initial idea to transform rubble left over from digging shafts or from explosions came from the municipal gardener Holger Blom. His goal was to trans- form these peaks into sculptures rather than into naturalistic components of the local topography. Blom also considered these artificial constructions as perfectly suited for recreation and ski slopes. In Blom’s eyes these peaks were not architectural objects or parks but stand-alone, personal pieces of art. In the context of the Utopian city, these peaks’ conceptual nature is highlighted. The story of the artificial hills and Holger Blom’s dreams of and plans for an expansion of the city’s green spaces is examined in a new light – not from a historic perspective, but rather as a potential model for future development.
Artist's Bio:
Katarina Lundgren (1978) based in Stockholm. My work revolves around storytelling and myth-making, often with its starting point in some sort of contemporary phenomenon, be it an issue or an occurrence, something unexplored or taken for granted. My method is research-based and I work with various mediums such as text, video and photography.