Ellisif Hals

Interview

How would you describe the work you were doing when you received the Maria Bonnier Dahlin Scholarship, and what did the scholarship mean to you?

At the time, I was working on several projects in which copperplate printmaking served as a central artistic method for creating works on paper and sculptures. The scholarship enabled me to devote more time and resources to developing larger and more ambitious works.

What discussions characterized the art scene at the time, and what was particularly important to you?

I was especially interested in what I perceived as a gradual shift from a predominantly intellectual art ideal toward a more physical, poetic, and spiritual understanding of art. In this context, embodied knowledge and intuitive engagement with materials and techniques no longer needed to be justified primarily through political or educational frameworks.

It felt meaningful to work with traditional printmaking techniques such as drypoint without feeling outdated.

What exhibitions, films, and books were important to you, and what music did you listen to?

Important exhibitions included Mamadou Cissé at Galerie Bernhard Jordan in Paris, Gunilla Klingberg’s Parallel Area Variable at Malmö Konsthall, and works by Vera Nilsson at Liljevalchs.

Among films, I remember the documentary Drone by Tonje Hessen Schei and the animated Chinese film The Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven.

I also read extensively, including works by Carl Frode Tiller and editions of the Swedish Tourist Association’s annual journals from 1927–1953.

Musically, I listened to artists such as Hope Masike in Monoswezi, Bryan Ferry, and Fiona Apple.

If you were to identify a person who was particularly influential in Swedish art at the time, who would it be and why?

Anna Odell was important to me because of her integrity, intelligence, and courage in public discourse.

How would you describe the social and political climate at the time, and were there any questions or events that particularly affected your work?

Discussions about gender, equality, and cultural life were important to me. Compared with my previous experiences in Norway, I experienced the Swedish art world as relatively open to conversations about feminism and gender equality.

This environment contributed positively to my confidence and working conditions as an artist. Although inequalities remained, I felt that women artists had greater opportunities to participate in and shape cultural life.

When you look back and compare the art world then and now, what changes stand out the most?

No major changes stand out to me in particular.

What are you working on today?

Today, I continue to work through similar processes as before, although in larger formats and with a more experimental and open-ended approach.

This text is an excerpt from Samlade stipendiater!: 30 år med Maria Bonnier Dahlins stiftelse, edited by Niclas Östlind (2016). Stockholm: Bonnier Fakta.