Emelie Josefin Svensson

What do you want to call your series of artworks?

– I have a few motifs that are recurring, and the hand is one of them. So, since I've dialed up the size of my artworks in this series, it’s called "The Big Hand”. I usually work with a lot of different techniques and materials, and these pieces are made using aluminum sheets.  

What inspires you?

– My work is mostly inspired by the odd shapes of nature. I enjoy depicting details of plants and seashells, objects that often combine functionality with beauty. Parts of the human body also inspire me. If you look closely at an ear, a nose, or a hand, you'll start to notice very peculiar shapes. They might not necessarily be beautiful, but the weird look serves a very specific purpose. It's all so fascinating to me. I find the hand especially interesting since its shape and posture also communicates something.

What other artists do you admire?

– I absolutely love the work of Sigve Knutson. He’s an experimental designer, based in Oslo, and he creates abstract, organic-looking objects in stunning raw materials. I can look at his pieces again and again. I'm mesmerized by everything he does.

Can you tell us about your background and how you came to be an artist?

– I studied graphic design at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm, and at School of Visual Arts in New York. After graduation I worked as a graphic designer at a design agency, working with big, well-known brands. It's still something I do, but after a few years I got this intense urge to create without a brief or a client. I felt like I hadn't used my hands outside of the computer for ages, and I wanted to truly feel the texture of different materials, and what I could do with them. It sparked an experimental journey, a journey that I'm still on, where I create pieces in metal, clay, wood and paint.

How would you describe your art and aesthetics in three words?

– Odd, unpolished, and direct.

What we love about Emelie Josefin Svensson :

There’s something about the way Emelie Josefin combines her large-scale pieces with a very light expression, that we are in awe of.