At the start of this fall, the National Nordic Museum opened a new exhibit in conjunction with world-renowned artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg. Titled “A Place of Opportunity and Transformation,” the multimedia installation challenges expectations of what an exhibit should be and simultaneously calls for deep audience introspection.
The exhibit, a collaboration between Chief Curator Leslie Anderson and the artists, contains three distinct sections, each revolving around one of Djurberg’s Claymation videos. Accompanied by Berg’s score and sculptures containing a similar cast of characters to the films, dark and intentional lighting works to immerse the viewer into the scene.
Tucked behind a blackened glass door, the exhibit contrasts with the rest of the museum. Forgoing much of the light, airy Scandinavian design present, the exhibit only has light where necessary, highlighting sculptures or specific areas. Noticeably absent is informational text—the exhibit includes no descriptions or interpretations whatsoever. The presented artwork itself also offers little context. Piles of stones, branches coming out of the walls, characters in various positions and the films looping intermittently place the viewer in a strange space between what is familiar and unfamiliar, forcing them to react with instinct instead of intellect.
As Anderson explains, however, this perplexing ambiance was intentional.
“In working with the artists, we wanted to encourage people to engage with a universal art form, something as familiar as animation and claymation, and to be transported through the use of sounds,” Anderson said. “But then to develop their own interpretation of the narrative based on their lived experience.”
The artworks themselves lean heavily into juxtaposition and ambiguity, placing opposing ideas against each other and leaving the viewer to figure out what is really being said. Moons, wolves, pigs and other common Nordic folktale symbols work together with the rough-around-the-edges animation to invoke childlike and nostalgic aesthetics.
At the same time, harrowing, polished soundscapes and complex themes involving gender, religion and the loss of innocence show the maturity and scope of the exhibition. While there may not be an easy interpretation to the pieces, the dichotomy of familiar, childlike nostalgia with the confusing and seemingly irreconcilable realities of adulthood is central to its impact, which was highlighted by Anderson.
“They’re inspired by fairy tales and folklore, which oftentimes are much richer and deeper than we may understand in our youth,” Anderson said. “I think that their work actually references that there is something to be understood and in their takeaways at different moments in life from these really foundational stories that help us better explain how people navigate and operate in the world.”
Thus, what might first appear as simple and easy to understand becomes a deep and personal search for meaning. The artwork mirrors this, as what is hidden and what is revealed is prominent in multiple pieces, but especially in the first section. The short film, “Dark Side of the Moon,” depicts a girl trying to discover the secrets held by a cabin in the forest. The accompanying sculpture, “The Stone Garden,” seems at first a large pile of unmarked rocks, but on closer inspection shows hidden gold and crystals within them.
What the treasure of this artwork is, though, is up for debate. Viewers of the exhibit interpreted and reacted in very different ways, with one describing the scene as “beautiful, delicate and ethereal,” and another saying it was “nightmarish” and “some sort of dark plot.” Katherine Bourbonais, a visitor to the museum, shared her perspective.
“I thought it had a lot of dark whimsy. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I didn’t realize that there would be an animated film, but I thought that it was a great surprise,” Bourbonais said.
Shock and surprise were common reactions to the exhibit. Zhixing Yang, an exhibit volunteer, spent a lot of time viewing other people and their reactions.
“Entering the gallery space, everyone is shocked by the darkness inside the gallery,” Yang said. “Normally a gallery would be quite bright, like a white cube.”
Yang also commented on the sequential nature of the exhibit, and how people flowed through each of the sections and became immersed in both the animations and surrounding sculpture.
Leaning into the diverse reactions, the exhibit has a QR code upon exiting with a prompt to share how you interpreted it in 50 words or less. Whether you are a seasoned critic or just someone looking to spend a little more time thinking about the art around you, the museum would love to see your reaction to the exhibit.
“A Place of Opportunity and Transformation” will be open until Oct. 27 and tickets can be bought online or upon visiting the museum.
