Anita Christoffersson

Anita Christoffersson´s art involves both intensely private subjects and a markedly more universal approach to matters of form and material. Her work oscillates between textiles, often found or saved for many decades, impregnated with the charge of life, and the circular shapes she explores in a number of scales and materials, all carrying evident references to art history and cultural heritage.

When it comes to materials, Christoffersson´s ranges from textiles, via large sheets of metal, concrete and paper to tiny pins or miniscule newspaper clippings. She makes use of cloth, fabric, towels and yarn, combining them with other objects such as lamps, etc.. The common questions of humanity are brought forth but we, the spectators, furthermore glimpse a personal story deeply embedded in the wellworn fabrics and long-saved pieces of yarn. Her way of arranging and emphasizing aspects of the materials shines a light on the frailty of life.

There is a simplicity and a soft-spoken poetic force in Anita Christoffersson´s pieces which, combined with her existential pathos, will deeply affect all who encounter her work.

Anita Christoffersson is an alumnus of Goldsmiths´ College, University of London. After work and research abroad, she is now based in Lund, Sweden. Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Denmark, Great Britain, Finland, Japan and Sweden.

Magnus Jensner, Museum Director, Hallands konstmuseum, Halmstad.

Translation: Yerk Liveröd

Kyrie – Lord, Have Mercy!

Humanity cries in despair. Living with Death, being the only self-evident horizon, a tangible presence, is an everyday experience for anyone listening inwards as well as outwards. A presence evident in loneliness, sickness, suffering, the loss of hope and the muteness of existence. A presence in our own lives, too, when we realize how we hurt and trample each other. However, shared, our despair makes for an easier burden.

Religion, philosophy and art have always sought to provide us with a language in which to express this despair. ”Kyrie – Lord, have mercy!” resounds throughout Christian tradition but there are equivalents in all systems of belief and reflection.

Art, with its transgressive modes of expression, brings a healing power, when we allow our lives to succumb to interpretation. Art, emanating from the deeply personal, is able to express spiritual experiences, reaching far into the depths of our selves. This is how I come to understand Anita Christofferson’s work, here placed in close proximity to the lyric force of another artist; Birgitta Trotzig. Materials torn from life – handkerchiefs who’ve received sorrow and joy, blinds drawn to shelter – carries forth the pain that dwells in all humanity.

When we share this pain between us, the miracle may occur – that we find ourselves able to perceive the strands of light in life, the hopeful signs of a life of meaning inherent in every embodiment of growth, love and care.

KG Hammar, Visiting professor (emer.) of Theology at Centrum för teologi och religionsvetenskap (CTR), University of Lund, Former Arch-bishop, Church of Sweden