Exploring Hidden Narratives: Delve into the World of Oskar Eriksson Furunes, Elisabeth Östin, and Maria Jacobson

Oscar Eriksson Furunes’ photographs, cast in polyester, delve into the relationship between light and darkness. His spatial installations explore themes of memory, relationships, and history, particularly from a queer perspective. By reworking fragmented archival images and historical materials, Eriksson Furunes challenges traditional narratives and invites viewers to reflect on their own identities and stories. His work raises questions about the boundaries of personal and collective histories, offering a space for conversations about how the past shapes the present.

Elisabeth Östin’s paintings reveal fragmented images and characters inspired by the fantastic and the abominable. Often ambiguous, her works invite contemplation of hidden narratives. Her recent pieces resemble close-ups of strange vessels, nerve fibres, thorns, or stems. Critics describe her creations as hybrids or depictions of ongoing transformations, with evocative titles such as The Heart in the Wall, The Pharynx of the Trunk, and The Shadow’s Tongue.

Östin describes her practice as an attempt to capture something elusive—something that continually slips out of reach. She frequently cites a line from Emily Berry’s poem Picnic to illustrate this: “Watching the sea is like watching something in pieces continually striving to be whole. Imagine trying to pick up a piece of the sea and show it to a person.” Fascinated by the gap between spoken and painterly language, Östin embraces the impossibility of articulating her images directly, leaving facts to remain as secrets.

In contrast, Maria Jacobson’s heavy, large-scale sculptures explore the tension between two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms, creating a visual language of their own. Her practice investigates how meaning shifts depending on materials, context, and scale. Jacobson’s recurring shapes and symbols evolve with each iteration, reflecting the unique qualities of their materials and settings. This approach offers a tactile meditation on the fluidity of interpretation and the transformative power of form.

Together, Eriksson Furunes, Östin, and Jacobson present a dialogue of contrasts and connections—an invitation to explore the unseen and its profound resonance in contemporary art.