We are happy to announce that artist and researcher Sheung Yiu (Hong Kong) is invited to the Nordic guest studio. During a month, Sheung Yiu will collaborate with Stockholm-based artist duo Hagren/Bela, Weronika Bela & Ivar Hagren, to conduct conversations and photographic field studies on forest dieback in Sweden – focusing on both its ecological reality and symbolic implications in Nordic culture. Forests have historically shaped Nordic identity, mythology and livelihoods, and are now central to its ecological crisis. As climate change intensifies, large areas of Nordic forests are dying due to drought, disease and monocultural forestry. This project aims to address this loss not only as an environmental issue but also as a cultural, spiritual and perceptual rupture.
During the stay, CFF – Centrum för fotografi invited Sheun You and Hagren/Bela for a film screening and artist talk, Nov 7, 18-20. https://centrumforfotografi.se/program/filmvisning-och-samtal-med-hagren...
Sheung Yiu (born 1991, Hong Kong) is an image-centered artist and researcher, based in Helsinki. In his research-based practice, Yiu collaborates with multi-disciplinary experts to explore imaging practices emerging at the intersection of photography and large-scale computation. Through his dialogue with remote sensing scientists, he learned how to see the Earth from satellites. At the moment, he is looking at the history of face reading and facial recognition to understand how photographs become predictions. His works take the form of photography, video essays, desktop performance, exhibition installations, and artist books. He is a doctoral researcher in photography at Aalto University. He is selected as a FOAM Talent 2024 and a member of FUTURES. His work has been exhibited internationally at the Hasselblad Foundation in Sweden, Taikwun Contemporary in Hong Kong, and the Circulation(s) Festival in France.
Weronika Bela (born 1988, Baerum) and Ivar Hagren (born 1986, Stockholm) are an artist duo based in Stockholm. In their project based practice, they work with the historical conditions of analog photography, its materiality and phenomena.They work with subtle visual worlds and develop associative stories in still images and video essays. They both have a master's degree in fine arts from Konstfack. Hagren/Bela were Iaspis studio fellows in 2022 and received the Hasselblad Foundation's nature photography scholarship in 2024.