I aM spirited away

kalle Brolin

october 16 2021 – january 30 2022

In Jag är Bergtagen (I am Spirited Away), Kalle Brolin collects images and quotes, to give an account of the ecological impacts of mining the mineral Vanadin in Scania. The mineral is important because it is used in batteries allegedly needed for a transition to a fossil free future. But the mineral is also complexly related to the social impact of smartphones and the possibilities that dating apps represent today. The installation also unearths the records of child labor brought to work in the coal mines of Skromberga in the 1890s, rendering visible the historical, technological and mythical dimensions of the colonization of life, love and relationships perpetrated by the mining industries of Southern Sweden.

About the artist

Kalle Brolin is a Swedish artist and a writer working with video installation and performance. His works have been shown in several international biennales and art exhibitions. He’s co-runner of the Sunshine Socialist Cinema, an outdoor solar-powered cinema. He has written mainly for the culture pages in the newspaper Fria Tidningen and has also contributed to several art magazines.

His latest series on the landscape and culture of the coal mines and sugar factories in southern Sweden has been exhibited at Malmö Art Museum and Moderna Museet in Stockholm. These works are also shown on a long-running tour of exhibitions and screenings around Scania’s mining and sugar towns. In addition, the works have recently been included in a couple of academic research projects.