Peter Hagdahl: Economics, Bubbles, and Transformations (Flowchart)

Spanning two floors, the installation resembles an extensive process map or flowchart. It combines photography on glass, painting on acrylic, and projected video, creating a visual network of connections, contradictions, and transformations. Through the interplay of static and moving images, the work explores how ideas, events, and information interact across time.

Hagdahl brings together references from history, economics, and contemporary society alongside personal associations and artistic interventions. The imagery consists of simplified symbols and pictograms in primary colors, drawing inspiration from artists such as Auguste Herbin, Sonia Delaunay, and Bridget Riley.

The work also incorporates information flows from the internet, creating a constantly evolving visual environment. As a result, the installation remains dynamic, reflecting the complexity and continual change that characterize contemporary life.

Economics, Bubbles, and Transformations (Flowchart) visualizes the interconnected forces that shape society. Through its layered structure, it invites viewers to reflect on uncertainty, transformation, and the ways in which economic, social, and technological systems influence one another.

Peter Hagdahl (born 1956) is a Swedish painter, installation artist, curator, and former professor. He lives and works in Stockholm and Paris. Hagdahl studied at Valand Academy of Art in Gothenburg between 1983 and 1988 and later attended the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York.

In 1996, he founded Creative Room for Art and Computing. He served as Professor of Fine Art at Konstfack between 1997 and 1999 and at the Royal Institute of Art between 1999 and 2009. He has also worked as a curator for the Public Art Agency Sweden.

The artwork was donated by the Josefsson Foundation and Lars Bane.

Photos: Mikael Olsson