The Exposed Eye
Anna Strand and Helga Härenstam.
An artistic work and collaboration that in the future will consist of several parts. Part 1, will be released in the fall of 2024, in the form of a book published by Sailor Press. The text below is the intro text to the book DET THE EXPOSED EYE. #1:
Dear Reader,
During a breezy sea vacation, we entered into an agreement that over
the next year, we would embark on a shared game. The game was to give
each other assignments that were formulated: “Do something about
…” The ellipses were to be replaced with something one of us thought the
other should take on. The assignment, once completed, contained the
seed for the next one, and it would continue in this vein until it some-
how came to an end.
We started with a man who was called “Raftworks Abrahamsson” and
moved around after that in realities and escapisms, among children,
X-rays, deserted houses, archives, sorrows, photo labs, sadists, harbor
towns, slaughterhouses, amusement parks, dreams, coffins, and cyclo-
pes. We impacted life and were impacted by life. We traveled to Vindeln,
to Paris, to Helsinki, and in time. We mixed together and were mixed
together.
The result of those completed assignments is what you now hold in
your hand.
Warmest regards,
Anna Strand & Helga Härenstam
Anna Strand combines photography, text and found materials in her practice. In recent years her work has been presented in exhibitions and artist books. Her latest work (The Assignment) was published in book form by Sailor Press and has been exhibited at Galleri Cora Hillebrand. Like many of Strand’s other projects, the work is based on an archive. Often they are private and at first glance of an inconspicuous kind, yet crucial in a process that revolves around establishing alternative narratives.
www.annastrand.se
Helga Härenstam works with coincidence and storytelling, often with images in combination with text. She has published a dozen artistbooks/photo books. Her way of working as an artist/photographer involves looking for and creating connections, meaning, and stories, based on events, people and objects that she encounters in her everyday life.
Since graduating from MFA (HDK-Valand) she has exhibited at institutions in Sweden and abroad.