During the month of May, the Master's thesis "Meanwhile" from the Swedish Academy of Fine Arts will be exhibited at Bildmuseet in Umeå. eXpression has met Johannes Blomgren, Jonne Hansson and Martin Arvidsson, three of the fifteen graduate students, to get an insight into the thoughts and work behind the exhibition.

The Bildmuseet describes the graduation exhibition as follows.
In stories take the floor meanwhile us to an event that takes place in parallel but in a different place from where the main story unfolds. We are transported to this other place and know that what is about to happen there will affect how the story unfolds. Meanwhile is a signal to increase our attention. What is told now will matter.

How did you come up with the theme for the exhibition and why did you choose it?

We in the class had to agree on a theme for the exhibition that everyone could relate to. After discussing the issue and listening to everyone's individual presentations of what they were working on, we found the common denominator of different perspectives which led to Meanwhile. The theme of the exhibition is about perspective, that things happen in many places at the same time and that it affects us in different ways. One way to explain it is to refer to what is in the centre and what is in the periphery," says Johannes.

What has the work on this exhibition been like?

Since we were admitted to the Master's programme at the School of Fine Arts, we have known that we were going to make this exhibition, but the first deadline was just before Christmas 2018, when the Bildmuseet needed to receive a theme and a short description of the exhibition. Then each student made their own interpretation of the theme with the support of Ariane Müller, guest teacher at the School of Fine Arts. We students work very individually in our own closed-door studio and gather mainly around workshops in the different fields of art.

How have you interpreted the theme?

All students have their own artistic expression and there are thus 15 unique interpretations. Some artists start from a certain material or technique and let it guide the concept while others do the opposite and start from the concept and interpret it through different techniques.

Jonne's artwork is named Heavy Thoughts and portrayed through characters from the video game Grand Theft Auto V in a Sadcom Machinima, a sad version of sitcoms mixed with the game company Machinima.

Martin's artwork is called Instructions for a Sunset and portrays several perspectives on things that have been left behind while the rest of the world has left for the future. Examples of this are the small boats that Martin filmed and that have been left on the docks and have not been allowed to sail on in life.

What has been most challenging?

Although the 15 students have their own artistic expressions, they do not feel that there have been any major difficulties in agreeing on how the exhibition should look and be presented in order to provide a common expression.

Some students disagreed about how high certain paintings should be hung, but after some discussion, it was resolved without much trouble, Martin says.

What will you do now that you have finished your degree project?

After finishing his studies, Johannes will continue to work with his art and freelance in communication, graphic design and branding on the side. Jonne Hansson has found work as an art host for Bildmuseet and Martin Arvidsson will continue with his art and combine this with artistic consultancy assignments for product companies.

Meanwhile is on display at Bildmuseet between 2019-05-03 - 2019-05-19.
Read more about the exhibition here and take part in one of the guided tours here.