Malin Östberg
(b. 1979, Luleå/Borlänge, Sweden)
Manlig brevvän sökes, 2025
[Seeking Male Pen Pal]
Installation with oil on MDF, photography, wood, chipboard, costumes, sound, and readymades
Malin Östberg works with painting, installation, sculpture, textiles, enamelling and performance. Her art revolves around questions about relationships, the body, integrity, solidarity and freedom of choice. Her themes are drawn from politics, current events and her own memory bank – realities and everyday life that, in her work, are turned into surrealism, and sometimes into absurdity. Using her own body as a tool is an important part of her practice, as are collaborations with other artists.
In the installation that Östberg is showing in the exhibition, Jakob Joelson has taken the photographs, and Petter Alatalo has composed the audio work. Manlig brevvän sökes is a peephole cabinet, with photographs on the outside and fisheye viewing holes through which we can peek into a dressing room with oil paintings, costumes, audio work and readymades. The installation is based on the story of Sigge – the artist’s great-uncle – who ran the revue stage in Jokkmokk from the 1930s until the 1950s. Using a collage of facts, fragments and fiction, the installation raises questions about asymmetrical relationships and the impact of voluntary surveillance on our lives.
The artist will give the performance Manlig brevvän sökes [Seeking Male Pen Pal] during the opening of the exhibition and on certain occasions during the summer.
Latest update: 2025-06-05