The world's most pressing problems may not have small solutions, but one artist is using miniature means to take a look at some of the biggest social issues of our time.
Sweden-based artist Camilla Hällgren, who also works as a researcher and professor at Umeå University, combines art and research to "explore ideas about identity, social roles and power relations." In her series Little Sweden Art, she uses close-up photography of mini figures and everyday objects to highlight themes like inequality and democracy.
"Both my research and artwork combine in the aim of deepening understandings about the human condition," Hällgren told Mashable. "I work with the overarching question: What does being a human mean? I suggest that one of the things it can mean, from an existential perspective, is being very small in a very big world."
She calls her medium "Art Blended Research," and it draws on the idea that there's more to see than meets the eye. Many of the issues she looks at are broad. Although she works with particular themes and titles, specific meanings are up to the individual looking at one of her photos.
- The kids won't notice. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Mar 13, 2015 at 9:45am PDT
Ruler of the people. #democracy A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Sep 24, 2014 at 1:29pm PDT
Protecting the Innocent. (Nr. 1/2) About cultures of violence and our responsibility. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Apr 2, 2014 at 1:10am PDT
- May the force be with you! A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Dec 22, 2015 at 9:52am PST
Hällgren's latest photo, "May the force be with you," features people in a small boat called "Hope," enclosed in wooden hand models. It's her response to reading media coverage of the ongoing refugee crisis.
Her aim, she explained, was to depict the vulnerability in having no other choice but to put your hope in other people’s hands, and the responsibility that follows.
Your mileage may vary A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Jun 1, 2013 at 7:24am PDT
If you can't join them, beat them. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Nov 9, 2012 at 9:26am PST
Be what you want. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Dec 1, 2012 at 10:43am PST
Hällgren has continued the Little Sweden Art series for more than three years. Over that time, she said, she's learned to trust her images more in terms of what they can communicate.
"I have learned that art can be a powerful way to go if you are looking for emotional dimensions, vicarious experiences, experiential knowledge, or ... expressing alternative world views and disrupting stereotypes," she said.
Please, let me in. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Aug 31, 2012 at 4:54am PDT
Life is a circus A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Jul 27, 2015 at 2:20am PDT
Points of view. Same world. Different perspectives. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Sep 3, 2014 at 8:54am PDT
One of Hällgren's favorite images is "Points of view" -- an image of the world surrounded by different pairs of eyeglasses, and people standing behind them. The glasses symbolize different perspectives, and the boundaries of thought.
"Each pair of glasses may be seen as representing different experiences, world views and understandings of, for example, what a good life is, gender, friendship or love," Hällgren said.
"By using our imagination, we can move between different glasses, beyond our frame of mind, and see the world from multiple points of view."
- Sorry, it's mine! [About #capitalism, #unequality and crisis of #humanity] A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Feb 11, 2015 at 12:04pm PST
Enough is enough A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Oct 5, 2013 at 6:02am PDT
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. A photo posted by Little Sweden Art (@littleswedenart) on Oct 28, 2012 at 12:23pm PDT
[H/T Design Taxi]