jangal

Aghili/Karlsson

This is Jangal. Jangal is an exhibition that is a forest.

Everyone is welcome in the forest. Here, everyone can play. Feel the branches. Run your hands over the moss. Hide in the treehouse. Listen for the wind in the treetops. And find the elves. In Jangal, there are elf nests and elf songs. In Jangal, everyone’s name is here—including yours. Welcome. Come in through the tree. And don’t forget to say hello and tell us who you are. Jangal can keep all your secrets.

The artist duo aghili/karlsson often draws inspiration from the forest as a place for play, contemplation, and togetherness. Their exhibition Jangal features, among other things, elves, huts, the Tree of Life, and moss to lie or sit on. As usual, they hope the exhibition will become a place for interaction, play, and reflection. All objects are designed for visitors to engage with, where mutual respect fosters a sense of responsibility that also embodies generosity and the sharing of secrets. The exhibition welcomes visitors into a forest directly inspired by the duo’s collaboration with elementary school students. The children have invited the artists to join in their games and have shared secrets and comforting interactions with the neighborhood forests.

In Jangal, the forest of art, we move according to the body’s memories. Here there are elf nests, balancing trees, climbing sculptures, and huts that resonate with poetry. And with the power of imagination, we can envision other worlds and relationships, beyond the reality where only humans take center stage and where nature’s resources are exploited. The artist duo aghili/karlsson aims to bring the forest into the realm of art as a starting point for a conversation about climate, community, and the power of imagination to create something new together.

In Jangal, there is room for everyone, regardless of language, civic status, or social background.

Biography

The duo Aghili/Karlsson is a collaboration between artist, playwright, and director Nasim Aghili and artist and set designer Björn Karlsson. Based in Stockholm and in the countryside outside Södertälje, the duo has been working together for over 15 years, creating works in public spaces, large-scale artistic installations in connection with new construction projects, exhibitions, and performance art—often through participatory processes. Drawing on an understanding of the diversity of experiences, languages, and cultural references inherent in contemporary reality, the duo explores how these experiences interact with the relational aspects of shared spaces. aghili/karlsson’s work therefore often draws on experiences and manifestations of exile and marginalization, and great emphasis is placed on art’s potential to foster mourning and healing, often through collective rituals and memorials.

Partners: Jangal is produced in collaboration with Botkyrka konsthall and Österängens Konsthall, and Unga Klara – the children and youth theatre in Stockholm.

Jangal by Nasim Aghili & Björn Karlsson, Unga Klara 2025 Written and directed by Nasim Aghili. Set and costume design: Björn Karlsson. Photo: Sören Vilks.