Christine Ödlund

A swamp can be defined as a larger area of rough wetlands that includes areas with unfirm ground, and others that are actually covered by water. Standing before this painting by Christine Ödlund is to come face to face with a swamp, not merely in the sense that it is a to-scale depiction of a section of these foggy wetlands that somehow mark the boundary between the land and the water. The biological elements that make up these environments are incredibly varied and diverse, and exist in a constant state of flux. The scents that surround a swamp often contain hints of decomposition, moisture, and the processes of life. This place is anything but peaceful!

Christine Ödlund trained as both a visual artist and a composer. Are both of these disciplines relevant to her œuvre? Certainly! Through the use of electrodes, studies of photosynthesis, and her own observations, she has documented sound waves and extracted the innate electronic music of various plants. Even the paint itself was extracted from plants, so her paintings can be interpreted as more than depictions: they are nature every bit as much as they are portraits of it.

Christine Ödlund works with painting, animations, composition, and installations, and her work is represented in the collections of Moderna Museet and Magasin 3 in Stockholm. She has shown at CHFILL several times before, including a solo exhibition (Systema Naturae) in 2020.