NORDIC STORIES / På andra sidan om oss (On the other side of us)

A Collaborative Nordic project between artists from Finland and Sweden. The result of Marias visits in Torne Valley during 2019 and 2021. Exhibition at Studio Jala, Haparanda Sweden

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At two locations in Haparanda, Studio Jala and the Library in Haparanda, artists Maria Nordbäck (FI) and Nina Svensson (SE) present a Nordic collaboration that began in 2019 in Torneå and Haparanda with an artist residency at Swedish Lappland AiR, with support from Nordic Culture Contact. 

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Together they have visited places and people in the Torne Valley, studied history and heard stories that reflect a landscape and a community on both sides of the Torne River. They show parts of the collaboration from before the border was closed and while it was closed, when the collaboration continued in a different way. The artists made separate journeys on each side of the Torne River with distance from each other, approached the landscape and people of the Tornedalen. 
 

Maria Nordbäck shows an installation; "Greetings from the North",  a travel story in mixed media;  maps, embroidery and photographs where you can follow Maria's journey during the pandemic along the borders between Finland, Sweden and Norway.

 

The video "Greetings from Tornedalen" is based on interviews where Maria asked people to tell stories about Torne Valley.

 

In "Stories from Tornedalen" Maria has invited participants to an embroidery project, where the focus is on crafts and storytelling.​​