Victor Jakobsson, aka Kenne-Diss, has completed a 30-day residency, and the final result will be showcased at OpenArt 2024, the art biennial in Örebro, Sweden. OpenArt has been established in Örebro since 2008, but it never had a proper residency program until now. In total, six of the artists featured in the 2024 exhibition will have completed a residency through Magic Carpets. Showcasing both international and local artists is part of our municipal mission, and it is also one of the starting points for the residency program within Magic Carpets.
Kenne-Diss is a local emerging artist who has had his eyes on OpenArt for many years. When I contacted Kenne-Diss, I assigned him a central street – Gamla Gatan, The Old Street – to work with. The street is 300 meters long, with Järntorget (OpenArt’s Info Center) as the gate and the police house as the background. Along the street, there are apartment buildings, second-hand shops, restaurants, independent small shops, but also non-commercial associations. The large commercial chains are absent.
Being a local artist made it possible for Kenne-Diss to conduct research on the street – listening to the people using it, observing everyday life in the stores and restaurants, and noting down snippets of stories and things he overheard. As an educated ceramicist, sculpture is usually the end result for Kenne-Diss, and as a musician, text and composition are very present in his process.
The sculptures will be placed on facades and in the street. A painting on the ground will be created in the part where cars are not allowed to drive. The sculptures are made of wood – recycled wood from OpenArt’s workshop, demolished artworks from previous years, found, donated, and wood that is no longer desired by the construction industry.
The placement of the works and the on-site experience can be compared to a music album; you can take it in as a whole from start to finish, but listening to a song on repeat will also contribute to a composite and complete experience.
The embodiment of the artwork features hearts, umbrellas, raindrops, a fast bicycle, text, arrows, flowers, clouds, a sun. These are symbols we are used to but shaped and presented in a way that challenges our perception of reality. The naivety of Kenne-Diss’s art – simple symbols, bright and clear colors, and rhyming lines – will resonate with many. The naivety also encourages the viewer to live a more creative and playful life.
Kenne-Diss has the ability to engage with the world and channel his observations into his art. Gamla Gatan, The Old Street, will become a portal to a world where colors, shapes, and emotions collide to create a captivating visual narrative.
Curatorial text by Felicia Bjärmark Esbjörnsson