#422 Swedish Conditions - Sveaparken

64x84 cm | Filler, oak panel

This work is part of a series called Easter Riots. It is referencing six riots in different Swedish locations following a tour of anti-Muslim provocation during Easter (or Ramadan, really) in 2022, shielded by the police in the name of freedom of speech. Each work is titled Swedish Conditions - Skäggetorp, - Navestad, - Rinkeby,- Sveaparken, - Karlslund and - Rosengård after the incidents in Linköping, Norrköping, Stockholm, Örebro, Landskrona and Malmö this year. Swedish conditions is a Norwegian deterrent phrase used to promote more restrictive asylum policies.

I did the works by throwing 99 stones on each panel. The series explores the notion of symbolic violence.

Throwing stones can be understood as a symbolic act, even with limited physical consequences. As opposed to hate speech that, though symbolic, has obvious physical impacts such as making minorities feel unsafe and restricting their use of public space. Rioting may not be considered violence per se, as in forcing one´s will upon someone else, but rather a response to systemic violence and oppression. Violence always comes from a position of power.