I have never seen a sky so blue is a work that departs from the memories of the artist’s mum’s volunteer trip from Sweden to a kibbutz in Israel in 1972. The work oscillating between the artist’s mum’s narration about her life as a 17’n young woman in Sweden, her ideas and desires of exploring the socialist utopia at the kibbutz, her experience from the trip and time as a volunteer. Along this a conversation between the artist and her mum is conducted about the Swedish and global political, social and religious environments that enabled volunteer trips to kibbutz. The stories and the conversations establish a tension between the mum’s empirical knowledge and memories and the historical and studied knowledge of the artist. The tension builds up and breaks down the conversation in which the gap between the generations and their idea of history and the political and philosophical climate and identity becomes visible.

The work is shot in the house and the garden where the artist’s mum moved into with her family in 1972. The imagery from this site works as an architectural reference to a 1970’s Sweden but also talks about the idea of the nuclear family, togetherness and the garden becomes a placeholder for a longing and a dream of constructing an alternative living outside the format of the family.

4k video / 3 screen installation / 23.42 min (loop) / sound by Clara Json Borg

Photo, Sound : Sol Archer

Colorist: Laurent Fluttert

Sound design and mix: Robert Kroos

Proofreading for subtitles: Liz Allen

Made possible by the generous support of the Mondriaan Fond.

4k video / 3 screen installation / 23.42 min (loop) / sound