The upside down tree is a pretty hard miss on your way to school in Drottninggatan, but did you know it is actually an artwork made by Charlotte Gyllenhammar? Charlotte Gyllenhammer made her debut in the Swedish art scene in September 1993 with her “Die for You” exhibition. In fact, what you can see today is a revisit and a homage to her first upside down tree, 30 years ago, with the name “Die for You/Take Root”.
Having studied in the Royal College of Art in London, then later in The Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm, and with over 30 years of experience in the art field, she is one of the most prominent and well-known artists in Sweden.
In 1992, she was part of a group show with up-and-coming artists from all over Sweden; the project consisted in placing various artworks throughout Stockholm to engage the artist with the city and its residents. Each artist would get one site where they could expose their work. Gyllenhammar thought that no one would find them and she didn’t expect anything to happen. To decide where they would place their work, they went to a billiard hall and used the table as a map of Stockholm. When Charlotte’s turn came and the billiard ball landed between Drottninggatan and Klarabergsgatan, she was “terribly disappointed”. She was hoping for something discreet, but eventually she decided to take on the challenge. “The location chose me”, she explains, reflecting back on how the idea of the tree came about. When she started to get to work, she felt that the location was very crowded, “in every sense,” not just the people passing by, but also the noise and the buildings. The air was the only place to avoid all the chaos of the city. “Suddenly I saw a tree,” she continued, and even though she kept asking herself ‘why,’ she thought that the “tree would speak for itself”.
A tree might be a very random object, especially on such a busy street where people try to get to and back from work. This newer exhibition was based on the idea of “resurrection of life and life that returns,” she explains. The idea of memories and remembrance is also very important to this piece as it is an homage to the first tree.
Ms Gyllenhammar gave shared some advice for the art students at SIS. – “Hold on and do not give up hope.” She reflected on not sharing everything right away and to keep your own thoughts faithful to yourself. “Having a secret notebook” where you jot down your thoughts and have a judgement-free zone to develop your own style and art without worrying what others or your teachers think, is one of her pieces of advice. Of course, she also encourages everyone to go to museums and look into art schools.
Her art, and her tree are going to be remembered for years to come, especially by us SIS students who can appreciate her art while walking to school everyday and looking up in the air.
