Embroideries
Wild Horses
One early morning we left Green River, Wyoming to go to a place where wild horses still lives wild and free. The horses have unusual colors and spots and stripes. We saw them and we nearly cried. Later, on the Crow reservation land in Montana, we took a wrong turn and were lucky again. Right on the path was a gloriously beautiful yellow stallion. His wild mares rested beside him under the shadow of a tree. The stallion stayed at his post looking at us. We felt the deepest respect for him.
Passion
A famous mother with her dead son. And the Passionflower comes out in bloom as much as it possibly can.
Everything floats
There are so many different myths of creation. Sometimes
everything was created out of a single word or even a thought. Sometimes it took
heavier things like in the Nordic mythology where the world was created by the
butcher-style murder of the giant Ymer. Well, how was it all done? I don’t know
but in this embroidery I have made chromosomes and primeval cells in the
primordial sea. On top of it all you can see me- the crown of creation according
to the bible- a human being consequently.
Everything floats is the title of my picture. Sounds fun but might not be
entirely true as some things sinks right away. As really, really young though we
all float in amniotic fluid for many months. Meanwhile dna, x-and y chromosomes,
fingers, kidneys and brain cells grow and are completed to the fantastic
constructions that we all are. Life is mysterious and sometimes wonderful.
Death and life
The black bugs of the soil awaits the dead. The result of their hard work creates the prosperity that is life.
A dream
When you dream some parts of your brain are very busy. The
blood pressure rises and so does the pulse. But the big muscles in the body are
fast asleep. Lucily, considering how crazy some of your dreams can be. During
dream sleep the frontal lobes of your brain, the ones that control order,
planning, time concept, impulse inhibition and many other good mechanisms, are
shut off. They sure needs a rest!
On the other hand the parts of the brain that consists of feelings, memories,
sight and hearing are working at its maximum level. No wonder your dreams are so
wild and unreal. It is this absurd mix of uncensored impressions because the
controlling front lobe area is having a break. So many strange scenes can roam
freely and crazy. You miss your flight, you loose your teeth and make a fool of
yourself. But you can also fly like a bird and visit beautiful places.
A beautiful day
The sun is shining and it’s a great day for insects and reptiles.
Oden
Oden was the wisest of all asa gods, and sad just because of
that. He knew the end of time was close. He also knew that even the gods must
die when Ragnarök, the twilight of gods, would come. Oden had power and wisdom
but he also had unpleasant traits and was strongly associated with death. Among
grave findings in the Oseberg ship in Norway (ad 850) there were woven pictures
showing sacrificial offerings to honor Oden. He was sometimes called “the god of
the hanged”. He even offered himself, to himself. In Havamal you can read that
he hanged in the sacrificial-tree for nine nights.
It was through his own suffering that he, like a shaman, could get hold of his
great knowledge and magical skills.
His power was great. He could kill fire, calm the waves of the sea, turn swords
around in the air, seduce any woman and many other remarkable things. He could,
like so many other mythological beings, change his appearance and transform
himself to anything. But also he, the greatest of them all, must perish one day.
Death on the Nile
Death was an important subject also for the old Egyptians. The god Osiris was an important god as he was the first one to be embalmed according to the myths. The Egyptians believed firmly in the afterlife. Osiris himself was murdered by his mean brother Set. Set killed his brother and put him in a led coffin and threw him in the river Nile. Isis, the sister and also wife of Osiris found her dead husband eventually. She cried and her grief was so deep that the Nile flooded every now and then. And still does. Osiris never got to return to the living but had to stay down there in the underworld as the king of the dead. The king of the dead was also the king of life as he was the god of fertility at the same time. All that lives will die. But in one way or another be reborn.
Utah
Click the image for details.
Many of my embroideries are inspired by the landscape of the
American west. There are thousands of rockpaintings and petroglyphs here. Some
of them are many thousand years old and made in different styles where motifs
and symbols has been used at different periods. The petroglyphs often depict
humanlike beings with shamanistic and ceremonial dimensions. Maybe they were
holy messages of some kind? Even though you can’t really interpretate their true
messages it is very touching and intriguing to study them as they appear in the
desolated and barren landscape. If you go to Horseshoe Canyon in southern Utah
you might see the petroglyphs that has inspired me so much.
At one visit in Utah we once took a riverboat trip to see the petroglyphs that
native Americans created long ago at the cliffs. Close to the cliff where Thelma
and Louise, in the movie, drove into eternity from we found many interesting
pictures. They were carved into stone and hopefully they will always be there. I
like the thought that some things might be forever.
The opposite of petroglyphs might be the sand paintings of the Navajos. They put
sand in different colors in various patterns symbolizing many different things.
They are then used for ceremonial purposes like curing of the sick. When the
ceremony is over and the patient is well or dead the paintings are destroyed.
Some things might be for ever but other things keep changing all the time.
Loke, the trickster
Loke was a complex figure in Nordic mythology. He was born the
son of a giant but used to hang around the gods in Asgård. He was beautiful to
look at but he could never be trusted. Often he put the asagods in embarrassing
situations although he could sometimes be helpful to them with his cunning
schemes.
Loke was married to Sigyn although it seems he had it going with lots of other
women. With the giantess Angerboda (the one who causes fear) he got three
horrible children, one worse than the other. They were Hel, The Midgårdssnake
and the wolf Fenrir. From these three awful beings the asagods could only expect
misery. To keep track on them they were taken from the giant world Jotunheim
where they lived. The snake was thrown in the deep that surrounded the whole
world. The girl, Hel, was sent down to the underworld with the dead. The wolf
was kept in shackles in Asgård, where the gods themselves could keep an eye on
him.
Loke, the father of destructive forces, is complex in nature as most trickster
figures are. He was the great joker amongst the gods, always with mischief in
his mind. He is witty and obscene. He is not afraid of authorities and boldly
insults the all the time, especially about their morally shortcomings.
Lokes worst crime was his involvement in the gruesome murder of the noble, good
god Balder, the son of Oden. Loke was severely punished for the deed. After the
murder he fled from the gods and built himself a house near the river. In
daytime he transformed himself to a salmon to elude his pursuers. But they
tracked him down anyhow and captured him. Loke was put in a cave where he was
tied firmly with the intestines of one of his own sons. A venomous snake was
hanging down over him with its poison dripping in Lokes face. Lokes wife Sigyn
held a bowl over his face to stop the poison from hurting her husband, but every
now and then the bowl was full and had to be emptied. Then the poison hit Lokes
face and the whole world quivered when Loke cried with pain.
And there he had to remain until Ragnarök, the doom of gods.
Wonder-wood
Here I have embroidered the manifold of life that dwells in places where we ourselves don’t live. The good little hardworking insects that keeps the forces of chaos away in my garden! (Except for the tics that are only troublesome.)
The story of Sigurd Fafnersbane
The dwarf Regins brother used to fish in the stream in the guise of an utter.
One day Oden, Loke and Höner were out strolling around. They saw Utter who was
feasting on a salmon. Loke killed Utter right away and thought it was extra fun
to succeed in killing two creatures with one stone. At night the three of them
arrived at someones house. It was suppertime and Loke gave his catch to the
host. The host was, as it turned out, the dwarf Regin and his father Reidmar.
Reidmar was not so pleased when he recognized his own son Utter on the dinner
table. The dinner was quickly called off and Oden, Höner and Loke became
prisoners and had to promise Reidmar to fill the empty otter skin with gold to
get released. Loke was sent away to arrange this. He went to Ran, the sea god
Aegirs wife. Ran lures drowning men with a fishnet and keeps them with her at
the bottom of the sea. Ran lent her fishnet to Loke who went to a certain stream
where he knew a big treasure was kept. The golden treasure was watched carefully
by a dwarf in the transformed shape of a big pike. Loke caught the dwarf and
took the gold away from him. The dwarf warned him; the gold would only bring
unhappiness to whoever stole it.
Loke gave Reidmar the treasure and they were thus free again, all three of them.
The dwarf Regin had a brother, Fafne, who could also master the art of
transformation. He took the shape of a snake (or dragon). He wanted to be the
sole owner of the gold, so he took it and kept watch over it. Before that he
made time to kill the present owner of the treasure, his father Reidmar. Regin
told the story to Sigurd, his fosterson. He then forged a sword to Sigurd
because he wanted him to kill his evil brother Fafne. Sigurd did as he was told
and together they roasted the heart of Fafne. Sigurd got some blood from the
meat and suddenly he was able to understand the language of birds. A titmouse
talked to him and warned him of the falsehood of Regin. He strongly recommended
Sigurd to cut the head off his foster father and thus be the owner of the gold
himself. Sigurd did again as he was told. He owned the treasure now but as it
was prophesized it would only bring unhappiness. And sure enough, only bad
things happened to him in later years.
Mamas little darling
This might look like an icon but is of course not. In an icon it’s god himself talking but in this embroidery it is only me. The massage is simple: Love
Ragnarök
The wolf Fenrir escapes. The midgård-serpent is coming ashore and the ship Nagelfar sails off with Loke in the stem. The ashtree Yggdrasil is shivering and everyone is fighting one another. Almost everyone dies. It´s the twilight of the gods and not even they can do anything about it. But two humans have been hiding from the worldfire. They are Liv and Livtraser and from these two little people a new world shall rise. A new and much finer world.
Zoomed in from outer space
the year 2099
Well, this is what happens if nobody does anything. The geckos
have taken over. In Thailand my son Jens and I shared a house with a big gecko
lizard. He talked to us at night.
Ge-cko, ge-cko, followed by a horrifying groan.
Peace in the valley, at last
The trees are all black after the big fire. But new green leaves evolves from the ashes. Plants that have been waiting a long time to be born. Creatures observe the wonderful newborn nature. Only a swarm of giant wasps might be disturbing. But they seems to be leaving.
Safe
Dangers are everywhere but sometimes you can feel safe.
Tyr gets bitten
Tyr was a Nordic cousin to the Indo-European god Jupiter (or Zeus), who ruled
the sky.
Some scholars of mythology says his role in the Nordic pantheon was more
important than the written scripts imply. His main quality was his wisdom and
his courage.
He only had one hand. This is how he lost it: The terrible offspring of Loke was
Fenrisulven (a wolf) who lived among the asagods. He was feared by all and only
Tyr dared to get close to him. The asagods knew that one day the wolf would grow
strong and one day cause them big trouble. All the chains they made to tie him
down broke. Oden asked the dwarfs who lived in the land of the blackalfs to make
a chain. The chain they made was called Gleipner and was made from the noise of
cats feet, a woman's beard, the roots of the mountain, the sinews of the bear,
the breath of the fish and the spit of the bird. The wolf was suspicious when
the gods wanted to test the new chain. Finally he agreed to have it put around
his neck. He had always broken loose from the other chains they made for him.
But to be sure he suggested that one of the asagods should put his hand in his
jaws to prove no treachery was going on. None of the asagods were attracted to
that idea. But Tyr hade the courage and he put his hand in the jaws of the
beast. The chain was laid on the wolf and it did not break. All the gods
laughed. All except Tyr who lost his hand.
A day at the gallery
This I made after my very first exhibition. A red little dot can mean so much.
Yellowstone Lake
In 1988 there was a big forest fire in Yellowstone National Park. The trees were burnt to ashes. But Yellowstone survived and the ashes gave new life to plants who had waited long to be born. Renewal came of destruction. It was like when you start redecorate at home. You toss everything out, you clean and it´s totally chaotic. You regret that you even started. But things find their new places, it looks nice and the chaos has turned to order. Well, eventually it all goes back to chaos again.
Yggdrasil
The branches of the holy tree Yggdrasil spread to the whole world and reached the sky. I had three deep roots and under the roots there was a well. Here lived the three nornes Urd, Skuld and Verdandi. They ruled the destiny of men and gods.
Urgup
A couple of years ago I went to Turkey to study textile arts and historic places. It was a strange landscape, very beautiful and inspiring. In a cave dwelling we saw dervishes dancing themselves to a trance. They rotated around some invisible axis with a strange, peaceful expression in their faces and in their bodies. When they danced they came in contact with god, they say. The dog that whirls around with the human dancers was, in reality, not there. At least not that evening.
Coyote in the monsters belly
Myths takes place in the world of gods and spirits. There are no clear-cut limits between men and animals. You can never be sure of what you see so therefore I like to make animal-like people or humanlike animals in my embroideries. One of the first one I ever made shows the mythological trickster Coyote. And as far as I know he still lives and thrives in stories among the Native Americans of North America.
A nice party
I was inspired by the famous painting depicting the last supper of Jesus. I felt I needed to study it more carefully after having read the boring book The Da Vinci code. I was thinking about Jesus and felt it was a little funny that his very first miracle was to supply a party with wine.
Kosmos
I was thinking about a cranium, but not an empty one but the whole of universe in it.
Life and death
Movements upwards by those who nourishes from the dead. Downwards by those who are next in line to die. In the center rests a human fetus, enclosed in it´s waiting to be born. The unborn baby´s umbilical cord reaches outside this embroidery.
In the sea
From the primeval sea we emerged. Sediments of the sea bottom grew on top of each other. We are the sum of our ancestors. In my primeval sea sperms, lizards and fish-riders lives side by side. Out of the clams shell a very surprised prehistoric relative takes a peep at the world.
A peaceful river
A whole bunch of capybaras finds themselves on a floating island in the big, quiet river. In the forest, strange beings are doing strange things. But it’s all right, don’t worry! Two responsible wolfs makes sure nothing bad happens. And the aspen trees with their black eyes sees everything.
Summer in Colorado
The dragonflies crowd together in the dense aspen forest. They sure have lots of things to do before their short lives are over.
