Mats Hjelm – Memories of Lakes Lost

We are pleased to present Mats Hjelm’s fourth show at the gallery, Memories of Lakes Lost. In this ensemble of new works, Hjelm presents a poetic meditation through a film installation, filmic objects, and glass sculptures unfolding into an immersive experience.

In the monumental four-channel film installation, music is the starting point. The film takes us through a series of panoramic sequences of landscapes accompanied by Johann Sebastian Bach’s 1st and 2nd cello suites, in a new interpretation by South African classical guitarist Derek Gripper. It is as if the film follows the music, rather than vice-versa. In addition, a tanpura drone, along-necked, fretless lute common in performing Indian classical music, is barely audible in the background. The show also features a series of glass sculptures with light animations and a filmic object adding to a multidimensional experience.

Music has played a crucial part in several of Mats Hjelm’s previous film projects; from black gospel music in Black Like Him (2007) to “Passacaglia” by Anna Ignatowicz-Glinska in his latest gallery show, Simple Sabotage Field Guide (2021).

This exhibition marks a shift in Hjelm’s practice, allowing the wordless, non-narrative experience of the film to be in full focus. Perhaps the perspective is not even human, and the protagonist may be nature itself nurturing deep memories of human presence. People occasionally emerge on the screens, yet more like a distant perception or a slowly fading image.

In Memories of Lakes Lost, Hjelm encourages us to contemplate our place in the world and ask ourselves what world we want to live in.

* a tanpura drone is a long-necked, fretless lute common in performing Indian classical music. It has open strings which are plucked in a continuous loop throughout both performance and practice.

Mats Hjelm (b. 1959) is one of Sweden’s most prominent video artists and documentary filmmakers. He holds an MFA in Sculpture from University College of Art, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, and he has also studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the US, Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, Stockholm University, and the University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki.

Since the early 1990s, Hjelm’s monumental video work has been shown worldwide. Recent solo exhibitions include BAS konsthall, Barkaby, Bohusläns museum, Uddevalla, Norrtälje Konsthall, Museu de Arte Moderna – MAM, Rio de Janeiro, Loop Art Fair, Barcelona and Konstnärshuset, Stockholm. Over his long career, his work has also been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Museum of African American History, Detroit, Dubai International Film Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and the Venice Biennale.

Mats Hjelm is represented in several public collections including Moderna Museet, Malmö Art Museum, Uppsala Art Museum, Borås Art Museum, Norrtälje Konsthall, Region Stockholm, Public Art Agency Sweden and Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro. He was awarded the Royal Institute of Art’s residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2019. Recent public commissions include the Youth psychiatric clinic, Uppsala Region, Malmö Hospital, two projects at Nya Karolinska Hospital, and Mobile Art Production (MAP).