FABRIK

Two works developed through the FACTORY project were selected for exhibition by curator Maj Sandell for the exhibition FABRIK, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Stockholm. The opening was activated by two performances by Rita Floyd, Brownsword's long term collaborator https://www.varmdo.se/gustavsbergskonsthall/konsthallenstart/nyheterkonsthallen/arkivkonsthallen/performanceporslinsblommorpalopandeband.5.7587ff16d926d3b413574a.html

FABRIK focuses on memories, places, knowledge and narratives of former sites of craft industries in Europe; poses questions about the role of the individual as well as the collective, what’s promoted and what’s left out in these stories. Is there a connection between older craft industries in the western world and the contemporary craft arts?
If the knowledge and manufacturing of the old craft industrial sites was concerning everyday life, what is the relationship between history and craft today? Administer and develop – or oppose? Do we see a movement today, a desire for collective thinking and making – or are we just tiptoeing on the paths of nostalgia?

The gallery is situated in the historical industrial site that hosted Gustavsberg’s Porcelain Factory. In Gustavsberg also developed an important centre of craft, art and design. Through the artists and craft persons who currently work in the area, and the still active small-scale porcelain manufactory, the history remains apparent – and is constantly ongoing.

The Swedish and international artists that Gustavsbergs Konsthall have invited to FABRIK are suggesting different starting points for thinking, reflecting and fantasizing around former industrial sites, such as Gustavsberg in Sweden and Stoke-on-Trent in Great Britain – figuring the past, present and future. From a wide range of artistic perspectives a discussion on the heritage of deindustrialization is conducted, its influence on the contemporary craft and the way forward.

Participating artists:
Inger Andersson, Neil Brownsword, Matt Smith and Rejmyre Art Lab represented by Unndór Egill Jónsson, Daniel Peltz and Sissi Westerberg.

FABRIK is made possible through support by Swedish Art Council.

A catalogue documents the project with contributions from Brownsword:
Hedlin, E., and Brownsword, N., (2020) Obsolescence and Renewal
in Hedlin, E., FABRIK, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, p. 18-25, ISBN: 978-91-980286-8-3