bas tokhmak
bas tokhmak (2019)
installation, various measurements
cyanotype on pine tree branches, bricks from the old mining environment around Stripa, blue yearn from Östergötlands uppspinneri, nails
bas tokhmak is an installation of pine tree branches from Gränseskogen (The Border Forest), coloured blue with the technique cyanotype. Together with blue yarn and bricks found on the premises of the old mine, the branches have been installed as barriers and railings; fencing off, blocking out and weighing down. bas tokhmak is also the name of a tree in Iranian mythology, with healing powers believed to soothe all sorrow. The healing powers of the tree unfurl in many of the world's mythologies and reaches Swedish as tree of life, a bole with cosmic dimensions that branches out over the world. In nordic mythology tree of life is embodied as Yggdrasil, and in Jewish, Christian and Islamic creeds, its roots sometimes proliferate up into heaven. Over and over, through various language trunks and mythological ramifications, the tree of life is binded together with goddesses, birth, and eternal life.
bas tokhmak was made in collaboration with a group of pupils from Storå skola in Bergslagen, Sweden. The work was made possible by the support of Konstfrämjandet Bergslagen, Lindesbergs kommun, Region Örebro Län, Kulturrådet, Storå skola, Stripa Grufpensionat, and Stripabryggeriet. It has been exhibited at Stripa Gallerirum in Guldsmedshyttan, Sweden.
installation, various measurements
cyanotype on pine tree branches, bricks from the old mining environment around Stripa, blue yearn from Östergötlands uppspinneri, nails
bas tokhmak is an installation of pine tree branches from Gränseskogen (The Border Forest), coloured blue with the technique cyanotype. Together with blue yarn and bricks found on the premises of the old mine, the branches have been installed as barriers and railings; fencing off, blocking out and weighing down. bas tokhmak is also the name of a tree in Iranian mythology, with healing powers believed to soothe all sorrow. The healing powers of the tree unfurl in many of the world's mythologies and reaches Swedish as tree of life, a bole with cosmic dimensions that branches out over the world. In nordic mythology tree of life is embodied as Yggdrasil, and in Jewish, Christian and Islamic creeds, its roots sometimes proliferate up into heaven. Over and over, through various language trunks and mythological ramifications, the tree of life is binded together with goddesses, birth, and eternal life.
bas tokhmak was made in collaboration with a group of pupils from Storå skola in Bergslagen, Sweden. The work was made possible by the support of Konstfrämjandet Bergslagen, Lindesbergs kommun, Region Örebro Län, Kulturrådet, Storå skola, Stripa Grufpensionat, and Stripabryggeriet. It has been exhibited at Stripa Gallerirum in Guldsmedshyttan, Sweden.