Retaining her characteristic connection to her native landscape, Hanna Salomonsson grapples with the legacy of Swedish folklore and female interconnectedness in a stoneware series for London Craft Week inspired by medicinal plants whose use has been transmitted between generations of women in a feminine whisper network.
The catalyst for this body of work is Uti Var Hage, a 17th century Swedish folk song. During the 20th century, the song has become incorporated into contemporary Midsummer Night celebrations. The lyrics describe a dreamlike version of an encounter in a summer meadow. Seven plants are called upon to gather in the fields, including lily, columbine, rose, sage, spearmint, lemon balm and undefined ‘blue berries’. Since the 1980’s contemporary folklore has suggested that the song contains a recipe for terminating unwanted pregnancy, passed on through coded language and whisper channels. Hanna’s vessels explore how the mythology surrounding the song could fit into this context, telling a story of desperation but also of unwavering support and sisterhood.
Hanna’s pieces explore the contrast between ethereal midsummer visions and this stark reality face by women who lack bodily autonomy. The vessel is intrinsically linked to femininity, and the pregnant body is often described as a carrier, a vessel. Hanna’s work for London Craft Week question what becomes of female bodies as they are reduced to unwilling vessels.
The vessels have been hand built in flecked stoneware. The species in the song have been woven into the sculpted floral details. The pieces receive multiple high firings with a combination of dry glazes, oxide washes and special effect glazes to achieve the desired surface finish.
Learn more about our London Craft Week exhibition 'Traces' here.
