Mats Hjelm is an artist, documentary filmmaker and creator of multimedia installations who currently lives in Stockholm. 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, United States, and Brazil and has shown in numerous exhibitions, including Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Walker Art Center, and the Venice Biennale, among others.

MATS HJELM

Art can be part healing process. The difference is that it's not meant to be something that somebody goes to watch. It’s something that is actually there all the time and can it be part of the healing process rather than just decorating a room in a hospital. I've been thinking around the ideas of healing environments, and there's a lot of research being done. People heal faster a garden rather than a parking lot, for example. The theory is that an opening in the woods with a little bit of water is probably the most healing place. That's the safest because that's what we have built-in as humans as the safe spot. The ocean is not safe, but the little pond. So, what I've done in this particular project with the radiotherapy rooms is that I've taken images from healing wells, partly from Stellenbosch National Park in Capetown, in Rio. I've been filming these water surfaces. I’ve been filming the trees through the water surface basically to create that water pond and the trees around, but from these places that have kind of a healing history.


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This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

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