Borås Art Biennial
Layers Loops Lines
June 15–September 15, 2024
Borås Art Biennial 2024
It is with pride that Borås Art Museum presents the international art biennial Borås Art Biennial for the eighth time—this year with the title Layers, Loops, Lines and an exploration of time, space, and place. Between June 15 and September 15, visitors can experience magnificent and thought-provoking contemporary art inside Borås Art Museum and throughout the city’s public spaces.
Patricipating artists
Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwait), Christian Andersson (Sweden), Hicham Berrada (France/Morocco), Mona Caron (US/Switzerland), Alicja Kwade (Germany/Poland), Eric Magassa (Sweden/France), Thiago Martins de Melo (Brazil), David Molander (Sweden), NeSpoon (Poland), Diana Orving (Sweden), Ugo Rondinone (Switzerland), Heli Ryhänen (Finland), Elin Stampe (Sweden), Fiete Stolte (Germany), Gê Viana (Brazil)
The Biennial explores the relationship between time, space and place, and how they are associated with society, surroundings and environment. It offers perspectives on the prevailing world and times, where the art takes us to other geographies and presents alternatives and fictitious universes—where the cosmological and scientific are interlaced with the enigmatic and spiritual.
Humanity’s way of reflecting on and understanding life’s trajectory, the very conditions of existence, is intimately connected to our perception of complex concepts such as time and space. Throughout history, man has attempted to define these concepts in a variety of ways, which has impacted cultures all over the world. Time has been contemplated and explained through the movements of celestial bodies, including solar and lunar cycles, and as abstract forms; linear, circular or grid-like structures. Time has also been defined as transcendental, something that only occurs in the individual’s subjective consciousness and mindset. The concept of “time” gives rise to philosophical and existential ideas on elusive notions such as eternity and infinity. The forces and mysteries of the universe cause wonder, in a mingling of scientific quantifications, such as gravity and the speed of light, with spiritual aspects, such as belief in a force, in superior powers or deities.
Time, space and place relate directly to the current conditions of the surroundings, landscape and environment, and thus, the soul or atmosphere of a place. This connection extends to cultural aspects and traditions in customs and habits, such as how we use the potential of a place and its assets—water, arable land and valuable materials. Places and their resources also contribute vastly to irreconcilable social conflicts—the struggle for a home; the right to, and ownership of, a place and land; occupation, colonisation and displacement. How a place is shaped through farming, depletion or toxins released over time in a slow process, demonstrates the impact of external factors on a given surface. We unearth enormous quantities of prehistoric remains through the sediments of time, in the form of fossil fuels, to satisfy the needs of modern times. Nature is perceived as animate but also as an object in a global market.
The Biennial brings together different perspectives of the relationship between time, space and place. Philosophical perspectives on the individual’s perception and the underlying forces that shape our existence. Works that offer alternative points of view. The powers of the universe, such as gravity, ebb and flow, and planetary configurations are portrayed. Events that were erased from a hegemonic historiography are resurrected today. Aesthetic styles that reference the past and present formulate universal but also currently urgent questions. Fragmentary, collage-like narratives, where time and memory are combined freely in motifs influenced by historiographies and the fictional world. To move without boundaries in time and space is one of the strengths of fiction, where imagined and hidden worlds appear. Art also has this potential, to destabilise the porous boundaries between fact and fiction, to move through the past, current situations and an imagined future—to reflect on, be astonished by and inquire into human relations and actions in time and space.
About Borås Art Biennial
With seven successful editions, Borås Art Biennial (BAB) has attracted great interest and put the city of Borås on the international art map. Many works have become part of the city’s public art collection and profile, while others create temporary exciting encounters. Established in 2008, the biennial has focused on presenting sculpture in public spaces. Since 2021 the Borås International Sculpture Biennale changed its name to Borås Art Biennial and presents a variety of expressions and techniques—ranging from installations with video, light, and sound to mural paintings, textile works, and sculptures.
Biennial curators
The 2024 edition of the biennial, Layers,Loops,Lines, is produced and curated by Borås Art Museum. Director and Artistic director, Eva Eriksdotter with curators Caroline Gustafsson and Daniel Ricardo Terres.