artfool.se

artfool nr 3/2014

"Skuld" is the title of my first video, although I changed the titel to "Lagningar" (Mendings). The video is about mending clothes, something most people in the world must devote time to. It is only the poorest, those who have nothing even to mend, or material for mending, who "escape" this labour, and of course all those who can afford to buy new things instead. To the last group many Swedes seem to belong; among those I know most look askance at me when I talk about mending underclothing and socks. "But there are a lot of cheap clothes to buy." It is as if questions about our environment, the supply of raw material and energy, children's labour and the possibility to donate one's money to victims of some catastrophe have nothing to do with our frayed clothes. Many are against the consumption society, but the concept is too abstract to touch our everyday life.

Skuld is the name of a "norna" in the viking's religious beliefs, a female geni who sat at the foot of the world tree Yggdrasil weaving the fates of all human beings, of the whole univers and even of the gods. There are at least three "Norns" if the old Edda poem Völuspa is to be believed.

"Skuld" is also the Swedish word for "debt". Debt is something we in the rich countries have to all who have less than we, as our richness depend on our taking more than our rightful part of the world's good. To minimize one's participation in the consumption society is a way to a more sustainable world.

This video was accepted for the Nordic saloon that Helsingsborgs konstförening arranged at the Dunker's cultural center in Helsingborg during late autumn 2014. It is 40 minutes long, tranquil but full of content.

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