Jonatan Habib Engqvist – författare

The book Some Instances of Encounters between Imagination and Matter is a case study of "Exhibition" a show by Andris Egltis (b. 1981) presented at the Latvian National Museum of Art in autumn 2024.

It collects Traces (documentation of the Exhibition by photographer Reinis Hofmanis and photos of the creative process by Egltis himself), and Reverberations (critical writing: a philosophical essay by author and curator Jonatan Habib Engquist; an interview with artist Andris Egltis by poet and performance artist Agnese Krivade; an essay contextualizing Egltis art in contemporary art discourse by art historian Santa Hira).

Seen by nearly 30,000 visitors, "Exhibition" was not only Egltis largest solo exhibition to date but also an attempt to bend, disturb, and rewrite what a museum and an exhibition can be. It reached outward from the solitary figure of the artist toward a chorus of other voices, beings, and materials.

Shaped by Egltis recent practice primarily painting, but also building, sculpture, installation, and set design "Exhibition" unfolded in dialogue with works by friends and collaborators, many linked to Savvaa, a collective project founded six years ago in his open-air studio in Drusti. Since then, Savvaa has actively influenced the contemporary art landscape of the Baltics.

"Exhibition" reimagined the post-socialist in dialogue with the post-humanist a radical form of landscape painting where the landscape itself becomes the painter, and companionship becomes an artistic method.

Nya Småland undersöker på olika sätt frågor om entreprenörskap, in- och utvandring samt förhållandet mellan landsbygd och stad.

Tre teman kännetecknar såväl den gängse, som den historiska förståelsen av Småland. Projektet undersöker frågor som: Vad händer i övergången från glasbruksort till turistort? Hur kan en region som avfolkas, samtidigt växa och föröka sig? Hur kom centrum att hamna på en åker? Hur ser relationen ut mellan Småland och Minnesota idag? Känner konstnärer och formgivare till den kunskap och potential som finns inom den småländska industrin? 

Genom att ställa dessa frågor och komma med olika infallsvinklar i dialog mellan internationell samtidskonst och lokal kunskap börjar vi närma oss en uppdaterad bild av Småland.

I den här boken presenteras även det pärlband av utställningar som ägde rum 2019-2020 och processerna som ledde dit.

Genom texter som reflekterar kring de konferenser, seminarier, residens, workshops och internationella samarbeten som skett i Småland under de senaste fyra åren lyfter boken fram en modell som stödjer långsiktiga relationer och samtidigt tillåter experiment. Den synliggör och engagerar lokala aktörer och lyfter fram samtidskonstens roll i Småland.

Nya Småland är ett samarbete som initierats av fyra konstinstitutioner, tre regioner och ett universitet.

Med bidrag av: Abraham Hurtado, Anders Sunna, Ane Graff, Ane Hjort Guttu, Ann Mirjam Valka, Anna Ekman, Axel Stratschnoy, Behazad Khosravi Noori & René Léon-Rosales, Caroline Mårtensson, Cecilia Järdemar, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Cristina Bogdan, Curatingpublicspace, Dan Karlholm, Elna Svenle, Éric van Hove, Freddy Tsimba, Frida Sandström, Greece is For Lovers, Joanna Sandell, Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Juan Pedro Farba Guemberena, Katja Aglert, Katr na Neiburga, Lela Pierce, Maria Lantz, Markus Vallien, Mike Bode, Olav Fumarola Unsgaard, Peter Aronsson, Petri Saariko, Runo Lagomarsino, Stine Marie Jacobsen, SUPERFLEX, Åsa Jungnelius. Redigerad av Jonatan Habib Engqvist.

Boken ges ut av Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing i samarbete med  Linneaus University Press. www.nyasmaland.se

New Småland investigates issues of entrepreneurship, immigra­tion and emigration, and looks in various ways at the relationship between the rural and the urban. These three themes characterise both a common and a historical understanding of Småland. The project examines questions such as: What happens in the transition from glass industry to tourism? How can a region that is depopulated, grow and develop at the same time? How did the centre of town end up in a field? What does the relationship between Småland and Swedish Minnesota look like today? Do artists and designers know about the knowledge base and poten­tial that exists in Småland s industries? Do local manufacturers know which artists and designers that work in the area and what their skills and ambitions are?

By asking these questions and developing different approaches to creating a dialogue between international contemporary art and local knowledge, we can start to advance an updated picture of Småland.

This book also presents the string of exhibitions that took place from 2019 to 2020 and the processes that led to them. The texts gathered here reflect on the conferences, seminars, residences, workshops and international collaborations that have taken place in Småland during the past four years, and the book as a whole highlights a model that supports long-term relationships and at the same time allows for experimentation. It emphasises and en­gages with local actors and accentuates the role of contemporary art in Småland today.

With contributions by: Abraham Hurtado, Anders Sunna, Ane Graff, Ane Hjort Guttu, Ann Mirjam Valka, Anna Ekman, Axel Stratschnoy, Behazad Khosravi Noori & René Léon-Rosales, Caroline Mårtensson, Cecilia Järdemar, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Cristina Bogdan, Curatingpublicspace, Dan Karlholm, Elna Svenle, Éric van Hove, Freddy Tsimba, Frida Sandström, Greece is For Lovers, Joanna Sandell, Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Juan Pedro Farba Guemberena, Katja Aglert, Katr na Neiburga, Lela Pierce, Maria Lantz, Markus Vallien, Mike Bode, Olav Fumarola Unsgaard, Peter Aronsson, Petri Saariko, Runo Lagomarsino, Stine Marie Jacobsen, SUPERFLEX, Åsa Jungnelius. Edited by Jonatan Habib Engqvist.

New Småland is a collaboration initiated by four art institutions, three regions and one university. The book is published by Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing and Linneaus University Press. www.nyasmaland.se

This book departs from the processes surrounding a work of art by Alvaro Campo. An artwork that is partly powered by the sun and excess heat, that transforms and grows. The idea of rewilding, within the context of nature conservation, is about finding ways to help nature heal itself, and then letting it take its course without human intervention. Perhaps the rewilding of time is simply about trying to find ways to carve out a time that is not related to the clock? Is it even possible to approach a time that is not dependent on energy and technology? Can we approach longer, cyclical time spans and nature s own time?

Boken utgår från processerna kring ett konstverk av Alvaro Campo. Ett konstverk som delvis drivs av sol och spillvärme, som förändras och växer. Med den här boken har vi velat spegla denna rytm och förvandling. Tanken om återvildande handlar inom naturvårdsamanhang om att hitta sätt att hjälpa naturen låta läka sig själv, och sedan ha sin gång utan mänskliga interventioner. Kanske handlar tidens återvildande helt enkelt om att försöka hitta sätt att mejsla ut den tid som inte förhåller sig till klockan? Går det ens att närma sig en tid som inte är beroende av energi och teknologi? Kan vi närma oss längre, cykliska tidsrymder och naturens egen tid?