Almarna dör stående (2024), Elms Die Standing Tall, marks one of my first attempts to capture the aura of a faithful companion who has stood as a guardian of my home for over 120 years. For more than a century, this elm bore witness to countless seasons, weathering winters and basking in sunlight, embodying a quiet strength that anchored not just the land but also the spirit of this place.
Elms, as the saying goes, die standing tall, firm, and stoic. Now that the pulse of this old friend has stopped, I find myself reflecting on its enduring legacy, which remains deeply rooted in memory. To honor its life and preserve its essence, I turned to the timeless language of cyanotype. The process, with its interplay of light and shadow, mirrors the duality of absence and presence, permanence and impermanence, capturing a fragment of what the elm once was to my house.
But this is not the end of the story; rather, it is the beginning of a larger artistic project that I am sure will bring me great joy throughout the process of exploration. Through this creative journey, I hope to transform loss into beauty, ensuring that my steadfast companion’s spirit will live on in a form that both honors its past and invites reflection on the enduring bond between nature and memory.
