PhotoEphemera: Swedish Photographers

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I found this in Sweden in 1992. I was as attracted by the design of the packaging as I was by what was in it. I picked it up basically as a souvenir (the show wasn't up when I was in Stockholm so I didn't see the work) and as an example of what Swedish photographers were doing at the time. (Alright, alright already, one of these artists is Finnish and for that matter, the title 5+1 refers to one photographer who is exhibiting paintings. I think.)

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I didn't know the work of any of these artists. I was vaguely familiar with Leif Wigh who wrote the opening essay (above, titled Notes) and was most likely the organizer of the show. He was a photography curator at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm for many years as well as an author, essayist and historian. I have a book that he put together of work from a Swedish collection of photographs.

The work of five of the six artists below represent a broad range of uses of photography. None of these styles are particularly in style these days (the Starns twins excepted.) I was curious what these photographers were up to now so I've included a short, current biography for each.

The items are 12.5 x 9.5 semi-glossy paper, folded once to produce a 6.25 x 9.5 inch, four page pamphlet. The Leif Wigh essay is the same dimensions but 8 pages, saddle-stitched (stapled at the spine.) The bag, which all the pamphlets were slipped into (top), is 7.5 x 10.75 inches, made of that shopping bag type of paper, printed over a World Wildlife Federation logo.

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Johan Fowelin is a commercial photographer these days. Already well-known in Scandinavia for his architectural photography and exhibited art, he has expanded his work into the fields of interiors, fashion and still life. You can see his work here and here.

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Anna Gerden seems to be showing work pretty regularly though she still has to make a living. For that, she is the photographer at the National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.

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Berno Hjälmrud is a commercial photographer who also exhibits his work around Europe. You can find his work here, on this Swedish stock photography site, along with the work of Lars Tunbjörk (who has nothing to do with this post.)

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Currently, Johan Holm takes b&w images of buildings that he cuts up and collages in patterns and then hand-colors. On his resume, he has a long list of exhibits he's been in.

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Renja Leino is a Finnish artist who has exhibited widely in Finland and Europe. From 1998-2004 she was the Head of the Department of Photography at the Turku Arts Academy, running one of the most respected photography courses in Finland.

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