Where do we look and where do we direct our attention in a time that is full of impressions and volatility and rarely allows us to pause? The title of the exhibition Present Nature refers to how nature is represented and made present through artistic expression. But the word Present can also be related to the present day where climate change and the threat to biodiversity cast a shadow over our entire planet. The impact of rising temperatures is one of the most pressing issues of our time and, despite facts, knowledge, and alarm reports, seems to be the most difficult to resolve.

Nature is usually depicted and understood primarily in terms of human existence, and the needs or desires that have arisen in our societies and cultures. But what opportunities arise if humans are displaced from their privileged place in a hierarchy of life forms, if different events, nature, and history are depicted from perspectives other than the human-centered one?

Several of the exhibitions included in the Present Nature project reveal natural structures that we are not always aware of; patterns and details that require us to zoom in or look closer: movements and biological processes in progress, microorganisms, bacteria, and enzymes that are not visible to the naked eye. We become aware of both non-living and living organisms that otherwise escape our notice.

Participating artists include Khadim Ali, Tone Bjordam, Marta Bogdańska, Karin Broos, Daniel Diamant, Ann Frössén, Peter Johansson, Mattias Klum, Roland Persson, Julia Selin, Ulrika Sparre, Matti Sumari, Margot Wallard, and ASC.

Duration: 17 June – 27 August 2023

Alma Löv Museum of Unexpected Art, Östra Ämtervik, Sweden