Strength and power radiate as a latent promise stored in the muscles under the horse’s shiny coat. The idea of the animal as an extension of the owner’s vitality and status is in play in Pernilla Zetterman’s images, as well as the dialectics of intimacy and control. Never vulgar, but always intriguing – the tension between dominance and submission is fundamental to Pernilla Zetterman’s artistic practice.

Instantly visible from the street is the video Exercise No 4 where a woman, tied to her waist is repeatedly lunging, struggling to move forward, to break free from an unidentified source holding her back. On entering Nordiska Galleriet we encounter Zetterman’s series Close (2001-2017) where the relationship between love and authority as manifested in equestrian culture is the central theme. Turn Down Center Line is a video work in two parts where we see two girls enacting an equine training session. One plays the commanding trainer, the other the obeying horse. A strange power game or innocent child’s play? Large scale, intimate close-ups of the horse’s body as well as cut off pieces of hair from the manes of Zetterman’s favourite horses, paired with impeccable still life images of whips, reins and bites make out the strongest part of the exhibition. Striking photographic artworks representing domination and fetishization in the expanded field carried out with impeccable technical skill.

The interspecies relationship between man and horse has a long history with representations of horses available in cave paintings as early as 17 000 years ago. The horse has been admired in art from ancient Greek marbles, English fox hunting scenes and war paintings, to Eadweard Muybridge’s famous study of the horse’s movement in the early days of photography. Since the invention of the railroad and cars, the horse’s importance for everyday life has dwindled into oblivion. Once a male symbol of status, power and sexual desire, the horse transformed into an object of leisure. Thus, passing from the masculine to the feminine arena, with the stables often being an all-female place where young girls come of age.

Together, the works in Too Far Away – Too Close show an intimate portrait of equestrian culture, leaving one question lingering in the viewers’ mind. What makes the submissive submit?

Pernilla Zetterman (b. 1970) lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden. She studied photography in Sweden and Finland, receiving a postgraduate degree from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and an MFA from the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Zetterman’s work has been shown extensively in solo and group exhibitions at Fotografiska and Gallery Grundemark Nilsson (Stockholm) to name a few.

Credits:
Words by Lina Aastrup
Artwork by Pernilla Zetterman

Creative use of space, that has been the motto for MINI since the midst of 1959 post-war austerity amid the fuel shortage. MINI broke the rules of car engineering as we knew it by eliminating all things superfluous with their radical car design. When The Forumist was asked to express the same ideal in the sense of how we live our lives, we turned to Nordiska Galleriet for advice. Who did they think MINI should connect with from another world of design that could make this idiom on future living even stronger. How could different expressions come together and flourish as one.

When Färg & Blanche get an assignment they know exactly what they’re looking for, but often the path to get there is very different. A couple both in work and life, Fredrik Färg and Emma Marga Blanche are educated in two contrasting traditions. Emma grew up in France, where theoretical and philosophical artistic training took precedent early on. Up here in Scandinavia, we tend to get a more practical schooling. Could these different cultures make for a compelling match? ”We’re always interested in showing the craftsmanship, almost getting a tailored feel, even though our products are industrially and practically produced. Making a visible connection between craft and industry,” says Fredrik Färg.

Their new collaboration with MINI: A limited edition of the Heart Lamp, is a great example of that vision as heart and mind combine for a holistic solution. In short, you could describe it as mouth-blown glass in a brass basket. A lamp that is rechargeable and pillowy – a little like MINI. But it’s also a living form, in various sizes, due to an interesting family history. “Recently we did an exhibition that we called “The Bakers’ House” in Emma’s families’ old house in Stockholm, where they used to run a very large crispbread factory in the 19th century. The heart lamp came from that experience and seemed to connect with spirits from Emma’s family history. The heart lamp is truly a pulsating spiritual little thing. A living form. Free, ” Färg elaborates. Now they have developed ”the heart lamp” even further with MINI.

It’s been more than 10 years since the couple first met after exhibiting at Greenhouse, Stockholm Furniture Fair. Soon after they were both invited to an exhibit in Berlin and decided to travel together, which ultimately started their relationship. In 2011 the couple curated an exhibition at Biologiska Museet featuring 20 international designers and with that successful affair a partnership ensued. “Fashion is something we both take great interest in – in some ways more than design. Things move much faster in that world than in ours. It is somehow less conservative”, Färg explains. When we meet they just took part in an exhibit at A/D/O in Brooklyn – a creative space and an innovation practice at MINI that represents the company’s core belief that designers hold the keys to progress. ”MINI is one of the few brands in the car industry that does the same things as us. From a design aspect, our lamp and MINI seem to talk to each other. Similar shapes, a similar oneness.”

Färg & Blanche are driven by interesting collaborations and this one with MINI and Nordiska Galleriet suits them perfectly. It is here, in this prestigious classic boutique Nordiska Galleriet, that a limited edition series of the ”heart lamp” for MINI Electric will be exposed in a specially designed installation by the artists themselves. “Few dare to do interesting stuff but both MINI and Nordiska Galleriet are great examples of the opposite”, says Färg. For over 100 years Nordiska Galleriet has been a destination for modern design. It is in many ways a Swedish institution, but one who wants to challenge what design is suppose to be. A philosophy that they share with Färg & Blanche. Rickard Liljeros, at Nordiska Galleriet, explains: “We’ve had our eyes set on Färg & Blanche for quite some time now. They are a Swedish design duo that really has made a name for themselves internationally, and that is something that is important for us: to collaborate with Swedish designers who have a global audience. We want to challenge how a place like ours should behave, and they challenge what a well-known object should be. Like in this case: what is a lamp? Where does it fit?

We live on a planet where different worlds need to inspire each other. Collaboration as a natural part of our everyday life. Something resulting in true innovation. For a car manufacturer and an artist to work together on a project for creative living would have seemed rather unusual just a few year ago. Today, it is just another example on how we grow stronger together. Creating oneness.

Team Credits:

Words by Tor Bergman
Photography by Johan Nilsson
Styling by Natalie Olenheim
Special thanks to MINI and Nordiska Galleriet

Fashion Credits: 

#1 Fredrik wears black pants & grey shirt by J. Lindeberg, checkered jacket by Hope
#2 Emma wears black dress & shirtdress, by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope
#9 Emma wears black dress & shirtdress, by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope, earrings by Jane and Sophie Jewelry
#10 Fredrik wears black trousers & shirt by J. Lindeberg, checkered jacket by Hope, shoes are Fredrik’s own
#12 Fredrik wears grey shirt by J. Lindeberg, checkered jacket by Hope
#13 Emma wears black dress by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope
#14 Fredrik wears grey shirt by Oscar Jacobson, denim jacket by J. Lindeberg
#20 Fredrik wears grey shirt by J. Lindeberg, checked jacket by Hope; Emma wears black dress & shirtdress by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope