Lars Nilsson: Avsked

The work was originally shown in Lars Nilsson’s exhibition Ruiner (Ruins) at Milliken Gallery in Stockholm in 2009. It was inspired by Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road (2006), which Nilsson read while preparing the exhibition.

The Road is a post-apocalyptic novel about a father and his young son traveling through a devastated landscape after an unspecified catastrophe has destroyed civilization and much of life on Earth. Themes of loss, survival, hope, and human connection run throughout the story.

Nilsson’s Avsked can be understood in relation to these themes. The work reflects on vulnerability, endurance, and the emotional bonds that remain even in situations marked by uncertainty and destruction.

The following passage from The Road was selected by Lars Nilsson in connection with the work:

“He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.”

— Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006)

Photo: Mikael Olsson

Donation by Lena and Per Josefsson.