August Eriksson: Var uppmärksam/Pay attention

Title: Var uppmärksam/Pay attention
Artist: August Eriksson
Dates: August–September 2020
Location: The main entrance and the stairway by the aula, Stockholm School of Economics
Curated by: Tinni Rappe
Photography: August Eriksson

In the spring of 2020, August Eriksson placed his sign Var uppmärksam (Pay attention) in different locations around Stockholm, asking the observer to focus. The work is based on an aluminium sign with the words Var uppmärksam in black on a yellow background with a red border, resembling a traffic sign.

The actual work arises in the relationship between the sign and the surroundings where it is erected. A traffic sign must have straightforward, unambiguous and easy-to-read prompts. Eriksson uses this form of public imperative to express something ambiguous, demanding and existential.

The first part of the project was shown at the group exhibition Tyst vår (Silent Spring) next to Kaknästornet in Stockholm in spring 2020. In the second part, Eriksson installed the signs in different parts of Stockholm’s public space and photographed them.

In August and September 2020, SSE Art Initiative exhibited a selection of these photographs at the school. One of the signs was also placed on SSE’s imposing gate, asking everyone who passed to pay attention.

What deserves our attention in a time of endless information, possibilities and distractions?

August Eriksson works primarily with photography while expanding his practice into other media. He explores the relationship between perception and movement, and the possibility of finding meaning through repetition.

Alongside his artistic practice, Eriksson works in publishing. He co-founded and ran the magazine Motiv during the 2000s, and since 2016 has run Skreid Publishing.

His previous exhibitions include Kulturhuset, Panoptikon and CFF – Centrum för fotografi in Stockholm. In spring 2020, he participated in the group exhibition Tyst vår (Silent Spring).

Eriksson also asks the question What Happens When Nothing Happens? in a book of photographs from nightly walks through Stockholm’s empty streets. The book is published by Skreid Publishing.

Related: Art Talk with August Eriksson