It's not about travelling less, but it's about travelling differently.
–HANS-ULRICH OBRIST
Mats Hjelm (b.1959), is an artist, documentary filmmaker and creator of multimedia installations who currently lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden. His work investigates the boundaries between art and movements of social justice, video installation and documentary practices, and personal and global political narratives. He has worked extensively in Europe, West Africa and the United States, and more recently in Brazil.
In a number of large-scale video installations, such as Black Like Him (2008), Father’s Day at the Shrine of the Black Madonna (2006), and the Trilogy (White Flight /Man to Man/Kap Atlantis, 1997-2003), the history of the Civil Rights movement is in focus. Poetic images interwoven with documentary footage tell stories of oppression, pride and the complexity of integration. Hjelm’s work also encompasses more down-to-earth video works such as After Hours (2010), where performers in business suits are enagged in a dance of power and submission with the office space as a backdrop. Hjelm’s latest installations Taste of Salt (2013) and Who the Fool (2015) include a poetic layering of political and existential narratives with his documentary work in West Africa and a reflection on Atlantic history and movements of social justice.
Hjelm’s work has been shown in numerous solo- and group exhibitions, including Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Museum of African American History, Detroit, Biennale Africaine de la Photographie, Bamako, Dubai International Film Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and the Venice Biennale, among others.
Mats Hjelm holds an MFA in Sculpture from Konstfack University College of Art, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, and he has also studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the US under the guidance of Michael Hall. He has further education in philosophy from Stockholm University and in Design leadership from the University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki. Hjelm is represented in several private and public collections including Moderna Museet, Malmö Art Museum, Uppsala Art Museum and The National Public Arts Council Sweden. He is currently represented by Cecilia Hillström gallery in Stockholm, Sweden.
Hjelm’s extended art practice includes teaching in specialized courses within contemporary art. He is also an expert cinematographer, film colorist, programmer and video installation specialist, currently active as a consultant in these fields.
Video Installation
1 monitor in each of 4 rooms
2017
Healing Flows is an audio-visual installation created as an enveloping experience of moving image and sound to four radiation treatment rooms at New Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm.
Ultra-wide video monitors with projected sound are placed on the ceiling facing down. The screens can be conveniently seen by the patient during both radiation treatment and during dressing and waiting. Focusing on the cognitive and emotional aspects of healing, the video monitors show slowly moving water surfaces from healing sources in different parts of the world for patients who are still and alone during treatment. The infinitely variable nature of moving water, with its flows, reflexes and wave movements, creates a calm and meditative healing environment in the room, while being beautiful and attractive to the eye. The soundtracks of the films, which consist of natural sounds, have been designed to mask the sound from the beam machine and thus reduce the surrounding stress for the patient. This work is supported by user studies and in-depth interviews with several cancer patients. A reference group of patients and caregivers was present during the development work.
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Healing Flows är en audiovisuell installation skapad som en omslutande upplevelse av rörlig bild och ljud till fyra strålbehandlingsrum på Nya Karolinska sjukhuset i Stockholm.
Ultrabreda videomonitorer med projicerat ljud är placerade i taket riktade nedåt. Skärmarna kan på ett bekvämt sätt ses av patienten både under strålbehandlingen och under vid klädbyte och väntan.
Med fokus på de kognitiva och emotionella delarna i läkandet, visar videomonitorerna långsamt rörliga vattenytor från helande källor i olika världsdelar för patienter som ligger stilla och ensamma under behandlingen. Det rörliga vattnets oändligt föränderliga karaktär, med sina flöden, reflexer och vågrörelser skapar en lugn och meditativ helande miljö i rummet, samtidigt som det är vackert och tilldragande för ögat.
FIlmernas ljudspår som består av naturliga ljud khar designats så att det maskerar ljudet från strålmaskinen och på så vis minskar den omgivande stressen för patienten.
Det här arbete stöds av användarstudier och djupintervjuer gjorda med flera cancerpatienter.
En referensgrupp av patienter och vårdpersonal har varit närvarande under utvecklingsarbetet.
https://www.matshjelm.se/
Installation views:
Projektledare på kulturförvaltningen Stockholms Läns Landsting: Martin West
Konstkonsult: Catharina Gotby
Beställare: Skanska Helthcare för Kulturförvaltningen Stockholms Läns Landsting.
https://vimeo.com/332474333
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