Works on paper and a film by Knutte Wester
Works on paper and a film by Knutte Wester
Throughout 2012–2016, Knutte Wester made one drawing per day. These works were in watercolour and ink on paper. Each picture represents a scene from his grandmother’s life, as told to him by his grandmother herself. The result was some 1,000 watercolours. 670 of them are the starting point for an animated documentary, Horungen (A Bastard Child), which, along with seven other films, was recently chosen to represent Sweden at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, one of the world’s most prestigious documentary festivals, which opens on 16 November, 2016.
Both the film and the original watercolours will be shown at the Nordic Watercolour Museum in spring 2017. The exhibition opens simultaneously with Swedish Television’s first broadcasting of Knutte Wester’s unique cinematic portrait of Hervor and her remarkable upbringing as a child born out of wedlock, in the grim reality of Sweden in the early 20th century.
About the artist: Knutte Wester (b. 1977) works with video, sculpture, drawing and installations. He graduated from the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts in 2003 and has participated in group and solo exhibitions all over the world, including Moscow, Johannesburg and Stockholm.
Knutte Wester’s works are often underpinned by documentary elements. He is a storyteller, who uses an unassuming approach to reveal injustices, abuse of power and social problems. He often lends his voice to people in need and those who find it hard to make themselves heard.