Press release -
Still Life – An Exhibition by Lars Norén and Bobo Ericzén opens at Nationalmuseum 20 October
On 20 October opens Still Life, an exhibition based on the play with the same name written by Lars Norén. The exhibition is a wordless journey through Sweden for 125 years, consisting of images, videos, texts and objects. Exhibition curator is Bobo Ericzén who worked with Lars Norén for many years.
Still Life is an exhibition based on the play written by Lars Norén and staged at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm, in 2017. The play consists of some 90 scenes without a line of dialogue from beginning to end. In a fictional time somewhere between 1890 and 2015, something fragmentary and dreamlike plays out, without sound or words. In a black universe with a white door standing ajar, actors interact with the essence of things. Lars Norén worked on Still Life for more than ten years, collecting images and scenes. At Nationalmuseum the work gains additional dimensions in an exhibition comprising images, videos, texts and objects in a beautiful, living, gripping portrait of Sweden as it navigates 125 years of change.
The exhibition Still Life was created by the dramatist Lars Norén and Bobo Ericzén, a film director and photographer. Working together over 14 years, they created a unique documentation of theatrical work in Sweden, France and Belgium. Hundreds of hours of video and thousands of stills describe the creative process and the finished works. Using this collaboration as a starting point, Lars Norén and Bobo Ericzén created the exhibition.
“In Still Life, Lars Norén tells incredibly complex stories – without a word being uttered. Creating it was incredibly hard work. During the process, Lars said he worried about every image, worried about not choosing the right image, the right scene,” said Bobo Ericzén.
Still Life has a parallel in Nationalmuseum’s collection of modern Swedish design that also becomes a part of the exhibition when the visitors exit through the collection after the visit.
Still Life – An Exhibition by Lars Norén and Bobo Ericzén will be on show on the middle floor of Nationalmuseum from 20 October–19 February 2023. Curator is Bobo Ericzén in collaboration with Nelly Bonner, daughter of Lars Norén and trustee of Lars Norén’s estate.
Press preview
The exhibition will be shown to the press on Wednesday 19 October at 10 a.m. There are a limited number of places available. Register your interest no later than 17 October to press@nationalmuseum.se. Please note that confirmation of your application is required to attend.
Media enquiries
Hanna Tottmar, head of press, press@nationalmuseum.se, +46 (0)8 5195 4400
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Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s museum of art and design. The collections comprise some 700 000 objects, including paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art from the 16th century up to the beginning of the 20th century and the collection of applied art and design up to the present day. Nationalmuseum’s responsibility is to preserve and make art accessible and provide knowledge. The museum was appointed the Swedish Museum of the Year 2022.
