Image: Måns Palmberg

Of Love and Care

MFA2 2026

When mysterious or inexplicable experiences affect people, they are rejected in the name of rationality, instead they are regarded as irrelevant, superstition, fiction or nonsense. Industrialisation has made society comfortable and safe, but also rational and technological. However, there are still gaps that science or material development has been unable to fill. Such as issues related to consciousness: The existence of the soul beyond the body, the afterlife, our dreams at night, love and reverence for nature – these sensations remain mysteries. Might the brain be an intermediary between the body and something significantly different? The questions are by no means new, but the riddles about ourselves remain.

Thus, in response to life’s big questions, myths and spirituality have played second fiddle to scientific advances. Here, we can see that modern society has led not only to comfort but also to a kind of existential emptiness, a confusion about the meaning of life, in combination with global imbalances between people, nature and the climate.

In the exhibition Of Love and Care, there are traces of ancient thoughts about life – everyday phenomena and existence beyond the measurable. The artists are moving beyond news feeds and social media, and further away from the overtly political and consumerist messages that so strongly characterise our time. Instead, here at Bildmuseet, we are embraced by a generation of artists whose multifaceted expressions reflect love, care, astonishment, frustration and mystery. They express the wonder of existing by revealing what is hidden in the folds and the gaps between concrete reality and abstract emotions. Perhaps this is simply an act of re-enchanting the world.

Of Love and Care is the result of ten Master’s in Fine Arts students showcasing their degree projects:

Amanda Angeli Blombäck, Christian Abrahamsson, Elna Dani Liljedahl, Fanny Åberg, Joanne Löfling, Måns Palmberg, Renan De Menezes Anan, Sofia Tien, Time Bohlin and Tin Åling.

Maria Lantz, curator