A malignant tumor has just been surgically removed on our daughter. Afterwards, the daughter whispers the words “mum help me” but I don’t have the required knowledge to take away the evil, I can’t reach up, I can’t get through.
I sketch down the form I see in my imagination, like a fragile horizontal figure reclined but out of reach on sharp point and broken shards of glass. At that point in time the drawing deals with the feeling of powerlessness that arises from not being able to help my child who is in pain and that as a mother I have no control whatsoever over what happens next. I have to rely on the knowledge and willingness of others to help my child survive. In retrospect, today, I understand that the feeling that underpins that image, as well as Malign:TippingPoint, illustrates so much more. The perception also shows the frustration that arises when a parent has all the knowledge in the world needed to help but no one sees and listens, no one wants to understand.
In Malign:TippingPoint, I have sought to materialise these feelings of powerlessness and frustration. With the help of paper, glass, sound and light, the three-metre high sculpture has emerged in a barn adjacent to my glass workshop and studio just outside Tärnaby.
TippingPoint is the second part of the extensive art project Malign.
Many thanks to Sebastian Saury who helped me with the construction of the Black Box in the haybarn and Sebastian is also producing coming film about Malign:TippingPoint.
Article by Sara Meidell in Västebottens-Kuriren July 24 2021
Malign:TippingPoint is produced with support from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.
