Silbersee / The Silver Lake

"Through rapid exposures of large-format negatives and methodical notes in moving images, with motifs from Swedish nature reserves, the artist duo Hagren/Bela make visible a series of black-and-white snapshots of the rare elements of dead wood in our forest landscapes. Creating haunting images by exposing prints in the darkroom using sparks and flames from a lighter allude to how the pine tree, by being ravaged by lightning strikes and fires, increases its resin production in such a way that it ultimately embalms itself. And from the artists photographs, filmed sequences and resin casts – where traces of something elusive are fixed – the silver pines rise as primeval forest-like tree relics; as remnants of coniferous forest with an ability to abolish the boundary between living and dead. Perhaps the portrayed trees, with such an age that their trunks shimmer silver-gray, can be seen as reminders of the transience of life? But in their state of limbo, the dead wood also constitutes a prerequisite for survival, as invaluable habitats for around half of all red-listed species in our forests.” - Erik Anderman