ELLEN MACKE ALSTRÖM

Born 1989

"Drawing is the very foundation of my artistic work, my skeletal frame and my safe haven.
I work with narrative, fiction and a reflection of feelings and imagination in relation to the everyday (re-enchantment!), and this is where drawing comes in as a bearer of everything from ideas to finished work; a completed drawing. I've shifted from black ink, pencil and oil pastel, to coloured pencils and even embroidery, and I like the way that – depending on the material and the technique – drawing can constantly teach me new lines and colours. Drawing never grows dull.

In recent years, I've begun translating my drawings into sculptures (primarily ceramics and textiles), and drawing becomes a sounding board with the physical form in which playing around with who gets to decide ensures that I remain curious about how my narratives can be depicted."

Master's degree 2022, Umeå Academy of Fine Arts

Hilda Hildoria Larsson Den Tänkande Handen teckning utställning

ELLEN MACKE ALSTRÖM

Ellen Macke Alström participates in the scholarship competition and exhibition with seven drawings created 2022–2024.

Oil pastel. Coloured pencils. Pencil.

1. Cramped in the Head
2. The Winter Coat (Self-Portrait)
3. (untitled as yet)
4. Regards, Witches II
5. Regards, Witches III
6. (untitled as yet)
7. Courageous Ear


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THE SELECTION COMMITTEE'S MOTIVATION:
Ellen Macke Alström's figurative world is filled with monsters, claws, skulls, faces of Janus and, perhaps, a gentle waft of decay. The main character appears to experience inner demons, but doesn't wrestle with them; on the contrary, they look quite content, with a wolf in their arms and dirt beneath their toenails. Or the wolf's fur is ruffled by the force of the wind, while at the same time the movement is completely frozen, as if stuffed. The composition is tranquil, harmonious, and sometimes even framed. The images appear to be double exposed, while still having a focus and an ending.

Cramped in the Head
Oil pastel, 2023. Original size 90 x 100 cm.
The Winter Coat (Self-Portrait)
Oil pastel, 2023. Original size 80 x 60 cm.
(untitled as yet)
Coloured pencils, 2023. Original size 29 x 21 cm.
Regards, Witches II
Pencil, 2023. Original size 15 x 20 cm.
Regards, Witches III
Pencil, 2023. Original size 15 x 20 cm.
(untitled as yet)
Coloured pencils, 2024. Original size 24 x 17 cm.
Courageous Ear
Coloured pencils, 2022. Original size 2x 21 x 29 cm.