HEAVEN & HELL was a participatory performance piece written especially for Gathenhielmska Huset in Gothenburg, a building that has remained largely untouched since the 18th century and which, in 2019, housed three active fraternal orders. HEAVEN & HELL aimed to explore ritual as an individual and collective practice, and in what ways a reflection in mythological narratives can help or hinder the individual in their identity work. By approprating the fraternal order as organizational and aesthetic form, we wanted to investigate the conflict between common narratives and the personal perspectives and experiences that such generalized stories exclude. In our project, we drew on the work of French sociologist and cultural anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu and his socioanalysis of the androcentric unconscious 1, as well as French philosopher Luce Irigaray's view of language as essential to the formation of personal identity2. We combined these theories with structuralist Claude Lévi-Strauss's ideas about mythology as a concrete expression of experiences that can't be put into words any other way.3 In HEAVEN & HELL, we combined these theories with theory drawn from affect-focused psychodynamic therapy, in which the process of giving the client access to language for their experiences, by reconnecting with the body's affect system, is seen as a way of giving the body access to its own language.4 Building on the assumption that we humans need mythologies/language to understand our experiences, combined with Bourdieu's assumption that our current mythologies/languages have a particular predisposition towards the experiences of dominant groups, we wanted to offer visitors the opportunity to engage hands-on with questions about the political nature of language and the personal nature of mythology.

1 Bourdieu, Pierre (1999). Den manliga dominansen. Gothenburg: Daidalos (Orig: La domination masculine, 1998)

2 Irigaray, Luce (1985). This Sex Which Is Not One. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press

3 Lévi-Strauss, Claude (1979). Myth and Meaning. New York: Shocken Books

4 Lindert Bergsten, Katja (ed.) (2015). Affektfokuserad psykodynamisk terapi: teori, empiri och praktik. 1st edition. Stockholm: Natur & Kultur

VÄCKELSEN was part of Institutet's project Korpela Land, which was based on the documentary story of the Korpela Movement, a radical and scandalous Christian millenarian movement active in the Kiruna region in the 1930s. Korpela Land consisted of three parts: the art exhibition Det är hemskt nära nu, the black metal band Korpelarörelsen, and the participatory performance piece VÄCKELSEN.

The Korpela Movement stood out from other contemporary Christian movements in several ways. Like many others, they anticipated imminent doom, but they professed their faith in Jesus as their savior in unconventional ways, such as through coarse language, heavy alcohol consumption, and extramarital sexuality.1 My co-director and I wanted to try to better understand how the Korpela movement came about, why it became radicalized, and what consequences the movement had for its members and their families. In our work, we chose to focus on some of the underlying questions about taboos and defensive behaviors, limitations and the breaking of behavioral patterns and the dynamics of the individual and the group, which we felt we could discern in the narrative surrounding the movement. 

A valuable theoretical key was the theory on the emergence of radical groups presented by Eitan Y. Alimi, Chares Demetriou, and Lorenzo Bosi in The Dynamics of Radicalization: A Relational and Comparative Perspective.2 In a comparison between groups that, despite differing political convictions, exhibit a similar radicalization process, Alimi, Demetriou, and Bosi highlight several factors. They argue that a moral narrative, in which the group's members perceive themselves as speaking on behalf of the general public in a time of perceived hardship, can be a radicalizing factor. Additional factors, such as competition with neighboring groups, are also highlighted as contributing factors. Another important factor that Alimi, Demetriou and Bosi emphasize is whether the group feels betrayed by a previously important authority. This authority may consist of government agencies (the judiciary, police, etc.), the media or spiritual leaders. The perspective presented by Alimi, Demetriou, and Bosi's analysis, in which radicalization is interpreted as the result of a relational crisis (where interactions are characterized by perceived promises, betrayal, and accelerating conflicts), provided an invaluable key to our work.

Another key theme we identified was emotions, taboos, and psychological defense mechanisms. Through the work, we wanted to explore the psychological consequences of strict taboos surrounding one or more of our basic affects and how such taboos can hinder the establishment of a coherent and cohesive sense of self. With the help of the theories of Katja Lindert Bergsten, Peter Lilliengren, Patrik Lindert, Linda Hellquist, Kristoffer Pettersson, and Lasse Almebäck presented in Affektfokuserad psykodynamisk terapi3, we sought to approach the Korpelan rituals as an existential project, i.e., an attempt to use defensive behaviors to distance oneself from those parts of existence that were perceived as all too threatening. 

1 Lundmark, Lennart (1985). Protest och profetia: Korpela-rörelsen och drömmen om tidens ände. Lund: Arkiv

2Alimi, Eitan Y., Bosi, Lorenzo. & Demetriou, Chares. (2015). The dynamics of radicalization: a relational and comparative perspective. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

3 Lindert Bergsten, Katja (red.) (2015). Affektfokuserad psykodynamisk terapi: teori, empiri och praktik. 1st edition. Stockholm: Natur & kultur

The piece was part of the group exhibition Experimentalfältet (The Experimental Field). Together with artists Malin Arnell, Åsa Elzén, Kultivator, Uglycute, Signe Johannessen, and Andrea Zittel, we explored, in different ways, the relationship between the city and the countryside. The exhibition took its starting point in the experiments conducted in the area during the 19th century and into the 20th century. Through efficiency improvements, mechanisation and breeding, the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture hoped to modernise Swedish agricultural practices. 

In IT TAKES A VILLAGE, we chose to focus on what was not highlighted in the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture's experiments, namely the lived knowledge of the people who lived in rural areas. Based on this blind spot, we wanted to raise questions about skill and knowledge hierarchies. The project was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the special circumstances highlighted a dissonance in the general view of “low-skilled” tasks and professions that are mainly performed by women or people who have roots outside Sweden. We were able to observe how healthcare, educational work, the maintenance and upkeep of basic infrastructure (such as snow removal, public transport, etc.), culture, and civil society were temporarily revalued, without this being reflected in improved conditions for the collective carrying them out.  

Through IT TAKES A VILLAGE, we wanted to highlight lived experience as a valuable asset, not only for the individual but for society as a whole. Within the frame of the project, we got the opportunity to raise questions about which skills current society is able to recognise and value, and which remain unseen or undervalued. How do we view our own experiences of caring for others, suffering loss, and dealing with failure? Can we regard these often hard-won experiences not only as an aid in getting to know ourselves, but also as a way for us to relate to each other more easily?

In the work with IT TAKES A VILLAGE, we wanted to gain a better understanding of how people can benefit from mirroring their experiences and feelings in a collective, perhaps not primarily to obtain guidance, but rather to gain greater legitimacy for their own situation. Central to the work were theories about identification versus recognition and how these can give an individual space to stabilize their own subject. Our understanding of identification was drawn from psychoanalyst Gunnar Karlsson's critical reading of Sigmund Freud's classical theories, in which recognition and appropriation of the other's way of being are considered to be the basis for the individual's development of identity. Karlsson contrasts this theory, which places great emphasis on, for example, gender differences, with feminist psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin's theories on the importance of recognition. She argues that recognition of an individual's feelings, intentions, and actions (through, for example, validation, involvement, or showing understanding) contributes to the individual's ability to establish a coherent “self.”1 Another thematic influence was the widely popular professor Brene Brown's view on vulnerability.2 

With this in mind, we wanted to explore the conditions and possibilities for meeting in vulnerability. In conversation with Professor Sabina Cehajic-Clancy and in relation to the collective expertise of the participants, we established guidelines for a conversation practice based on reflection and validation, where the promise of advice served as legitimization for the conversation, but where the meeting with the visitor itself was the main focus for the performers. 

1 Karlsson, Gunnar (2019). Det maskulina projektet: psykoanalytiska och fenomenologiska reflektioner. Stockholm: Östlings Bokförlag Symposium. Sid 41-70. 

2 Brown, Brene (2015[2012]). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd

The work drew on the feminist ethos of the creators and a collective experience of harassment and discrimination, feminist awakening, and feminist disappointments. The theoretical work was characterized by issues of legal and social philosophy. We were united in our interest in how feminist advances, such as the #MeToo movement, have often resulted in political gains, but also in reactionary setbacks. Central to our work was the statistically proven difficulty for victims of sexual assault to obtain legal vindication, which means that the vast majority of rape victims worldwide live their lives with their perpetrators unpunished.1 We wanted to understand how this affects women's trust in the justice system, the public sphere, and their own relationships. We were preoccupied with the defamation legislation and how it is applied in practice, where questions of honor, truth and strategies for sisterhood were activated in urgent and highly relevant ways. Another social-philosophical issue that characterized the work was feminism's constant challenge of, on the one hand, providing a broad and diverse community and, on the other hand, mobilizing a united front.

1 Holmberg, Stina & Lewenhagen, Lars. (2019). Våldtäkt från anmälan till dom: en studie av rättsväsendets arbete med våldtäktsärenden, Brottsförebyggande rådet, Stockholm.

In our work, our starting point was the symbolic value that the ballet Swan Lake came to have in the former Soviet Union. The original ballet was reworked by choreographer Yuri Grigorovich to better satisfy the politicians' desire for uplifting and morally strengthening art. Instead of the main characters dying, which is the generally accepted ending, Grigorovich's version of Swan Lake ended with the rightful successor to the throne defeating the forces of evil and winning the princess's heart.2 During the 1980s, the ballet was broadcast on television during major dramatic events such as the deaths of Leonid Brezhnev (1982) Yuri Andropov (1984) and Konstantin Chernenko (1985), and the coup attempt in 1991.3 Initially, the purpose may have been to provide the public with reassuring and morale-boosting culture while awaiting further information about the new reality they now lived in, but over time, the ballet came to serve as a signal that something significant, yet unclear, had occurred. In March 2022, in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the last independent Russian channel, TV Rain, broadcasted Swan Lake as the channel was shut down and its employees left the studio.4

 Another factor that influenced the work was the authors' concerns about developments in Swedish cultural policy following the 2022 parliamentary elections, when a committee was set up to develop a Swedish cultural canon. 5 The principle of maintaining an arm's length distance between politicians and cultural practitioners was debated intensively, with several proposals to give politicians a greater scope to intervene against “inappropriate” culture if it is financed by public funds.6

The project revolved around questions about the place of culture in politics, how culture is constantly at risk of being controlled and instrumentalized under conservative or totalitarian regimes, but also how it can provide space for subversive forms of resistance. Inspired by models of solidarity and self-determination drawn from climate activist groups, we explored how we can express our own voices in interaction with others.

1 https://dancetabs.com/2019/08/bolshoi-ballet-swan-lake-london-3/ [Available: December 29, 2025.]

2 https://abcnews.go.com/International/swan-lake-symbol-protest-russia/story?id=84401801 [Available: December 29, 2025.]

3 https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/last-independent-russian-tv-station-plays-swan-lake-before-it-was-blocked/  [Available: December 29, 2025.]

4 https://www.kulturkanon.se/om-kulturkanon [Available: December 29, 2025.]

5 https://magasink.se/2022/12/sagostund-pa-bibliotek-stoppad-av-sd-politiker/ [Tillgänglig: 8 januari 2026.]

The piece explored the possible similarities between the Romantic era and our own time. In MINOR ARCANA, we interpreted the contemporary neo-Romantic tendency as a cultural and existential reaction to a modernity that, despite all its progress, left many of us feeling empty.In the work, we explored the potential of art as a personal and relational language. We started from structuralist Claude Levi-Strauss's view of how humans can use myths to give language to experiences that cannot be formulated in any other way.1 In the work, we chose to treat the art treasures of the National Museum as such a mythology; images that have been created, admired, and preserved, and that give us a place to reflect on each other's feelings and experiences, even when centuries separate us. In MINOR ARCANA, we wanted to offer visitors the opportunity to explore a personal relationship with one or more images from the National Museum's collections, encouraging them to find personal meaning in the images and suggesting that this meaning is what matters. 

1 Lévi-Strauss, Claude. (1979). Myth and meaning. New York: Shocken books 

WUTHERING, WUTHERING HEIGHTS was part of Poste Restante's exploration of the Romantic period and its possible similarities to our own time, which began with GENERAL PUBLIC (2023).

The project was based on our fascination with Emily Brontë's unique novel, but perhaps above all on our fascination with the fact that we shared this fascination with so many others. In her portrayal of the main characters, Brontë paints a picture of two people who both suffer but also cause great suffering to those around them. Through these complex portraits, the novel expresses Romanticism's exploration of human nature. How are we and our relationships affected by the power relations in which we live? What makes a person turn out the way they do? In our reading, we found that Romanticism's preoccupation with these questions is largely similar to the questions we ask ourselves in the context of intersectional analysis. In our work, we drew on the insights of gender studies scholar R. W. Connell. Her theories on masculinity and its variations linked to class and cultural marginalization became an important key in our attempts to understand how privilege and subordination can be intertwined in contradictory and complex ways.2 Another important influence on our work was psychoanalyst Alice Miller's study of brutality and its psychological origins. In For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence, Miller shares examples of how individuals can internalize the oppressive system to which they have been subjected, thereby risking repeating the behavior of their tormentors.3 A recurring theme in the work was vulnerability as a prerequisite for connection. What determines the space we have for vulnerability? How do our defensive behaviors constrain us in our relationships with ourselves and others? For us, both our theoretical sources and the original work of fictional literature provided space for exploring the political aspects of our close relationships.  As part of the work, Poste Restante held a weekend workshop titled The Ethics of Hospitality. Led by priest Ann-Christine Björk, psychologist Élie Iziamo, professor John-Paul Zaccarini, and domme Åsa Loodus-Dristig, we spent two days sharing experiences related to asymmetrical relationships, intersectionality, power, and responsibility.  

1 Brontë, Emily. (1847) Wuthering heights. London: T.C. Newby. Originally published under the pseudonym "Ellis Bell". 

2 Connell, Raewyn. (1999). Maskuliniteter. Göteborg: Daidalos

3 Miller, Alice. (1984). For your own good: hidden cruelty in child-rearing and the roots of violence. 2. ed. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux  

i svaghet - att regissera deltagandebaserad performance / in weakness – directing participatory performance

How is the relationship between me and the actor affected by the specific conditions that the field of participatory performance sets for our joint work?What challenges and opportunities arise when I, as a director, try to apply an artistic practice based on weakness within the framework of this work?These questions form the starting point for a reflective essay on directing, acting, intimacy, and integrity. The essay describes how the participatory field constantly brings the creator into contact with vulnerability, both their own and that of others. It describes how the work culture within the same field can simultaneously make it difficult for both the director and the performer to exercise their profession based on acknowledged and shared vulnerability. The essay provides personal examples of how formative experiences and asymmetrical power relations can lead to a working culture characterized by short-term attempts to live up to stereotypical expectations, even when they conflict with one's own values or have a directly inhibiting effect on artistic work.

på en ostörd plats / in a secluded place

The doctoral students compilation of the methods she has applied to navigate thecontradictions of the director's role.

i svaghet - att regissera deltagandebaserad performance

Hur påverkas relationen mellan mig och aktören av de särskilda förutsättningarsom fältet för deltagandebaserad performance formulerar för det gemensammaarbetet? Vilka utmaningar och möjligheter uppstår när jag som regissör försöker tillämpaen konstnärlig praktik baserad på svaghet inom ramen för detta arbete? Dessa frågor utgör utgångspunkt för en reflekterande essä kring regi,aktörskap, intimitet och integritet. I essän beskrivs hur deltagandebaseradefältet ständigt försätter upphovspersonen i kontakt med sårbarhet, både denegna och andras. Den beskriver hur arbetskulturen inom samma fält samtidigtkan göra det svårt för såväl regissören som aktören att utöva ett arbete grundat ierkänd och delad sårbarhet. I essän ges personliga exempel på hur formativaerfarenheter och asymmetriska maktförhållanden kan leda till en arbetskulturpräglad av kortsiktiga försök att leva upp till stereotypa förväntningar, även då destrider mot de egna värderingarna eller har en direkt hämmande effekt på detkonstnärliga arbetet.

på en ostörd plats / in a secluded place

Doktorandens sammanställning av de metoder som hon har tillämpade för att navigera i regirollens motsägelser.