My work addresses the childlike desire to trust that magic exists, in opposition to the adult need to control our life journey, to feel that we’re on the right path. Like everyone, I seek clarity, better perception and direction.

For me, the forest is a place of refuge and a place of timelessness. I centred my work in a Swedish forest to evoke a sense of journeying, being lost, and seeking direction. The transfer process when printing the images I took from my phone on wood grain results in an imperfect and obscured image, making the viewer feel a sense of timelessness, yearning.

I intentionally cut the wood into card-sized pieces and arranged them in a tarot spread with a string pentagram. The tarot is a tool for understanding the present, past, hidden influences and the future. The pentagram is a symbol of connection, protection and magic. String is also used as an orienteering tool to mark your way when travelling through a forest so you don’t lose your direction.

I deliberately juxtaposed the realistic, yet ephemeral wood prints with a cartoon forest guide (trollgubbe) to contrast a childlike belief in magic with an adult desire for answers. I used silk screen printing with green ink on pieces of a children’s game. He is the perfect size to fit into the palm of your hand. Please take your guide with you, as he has all the answers you seek...

*(The audience were encouraged to each take a wooden talisman home)