BY JOAKIM BLOMQUIST
ENG / When everyone escapes for their holiday, he follows the tourist buses. With the help of photography, Joakim Blomquist wants to document and aestheticise his fascination with how people seek out leisure together without necessarily having asked to do it together. In the involuntary community that arises, an unclear and unique context is created where the experience is individual while mutual at the same time. Many would probably say that spending time with other skiers on a slope is a bumpy nightmare that you would like to have spared yourself from - but you choose not to do so. Putting the camera in an objective view in all the chaos reveals a sort of humorous and human behaviour which can sometimes even be quite nice. Blomquist’s photos also ask how we humans have altered and shaped nature to make the planet accessible to us and our pleasures. Who are these environments for? What do we actually look like when we stand on the slope together? And what tracks have we left behind?
SWE / När alla flyr på semestern, så följer han turistbussarna. Joakim Blomquist fascineras av människor i grupp och vill med sin fotografi dokumentera och estetisera hur människor tillsammans söker nöje utan att nödvändigtvis ha bett om att göra det just tillsammans. I den ofrivilliga gemenskapen som uppstår skapas ett otydligt och unikt sammanhang där upplevelsen är individuell samtidigt som den förhåller sig till en grupp. Många skulle nog säga att samsas med andra skidåkare i en backe är en bökig mardrömsupplevelse som man gärna hade besparat sig - men man väljer att inte göra det. Samtidigt så finns i allt detta, sett utifrån, ett beteende som är humoristiskt, mänskligt och i slutänden till och med fint. I Blomquists foton finns också en frågeställning om hur vi människor har skapat och format naturen för att göra planeten tillgänglig för oss och våra nöjen. För vilka blir vi i dessa miljöer och hur ser vi egentligen ut när vi står i skidbacken i all vardaglighet tillsammans med de spår vi lämnar efter oss? I hans fotospråk kan man kalla det självbilden i bilden.
JOAKIM BLOMQUIST is a Swedish art photographer and Art Director based in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is fascinated how man interacts with nature and the imprints we leave behind. With the camera as a tool and a subtle sense of humor, he reflects over the human role in nature and public spaces. If you take a closer look you will discover small details and episodes in his often magnificent sceneries.
Joakim Blomquist has a Bachelor’s degree from the School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg and has studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Arts in London. During his time studying graphic design he started to use his camera in different projects, he became almost possessed and the camera became like an extra part of his body during certain times. In recent years he has developed his photographic expression to where he stands today. His first exhibition “Promenade” in 2012 was a turning point in his career and the start for a series of exhibitions in Sweden and abroad.
EXHIBITIONS
2013 ”Promenade” at Naugallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2014 ”Back to Nature” at Galleri Nils Åberg, Gothenburg, Sweden
2016 ”Take-Off” at Dusty Deco, Stockholm, Sweden
2016 Selected works at Vallgatan 12, Gothenburg, Sweden
2016 “Off-season”, Champagnebaren Forssén & Öberg, Gothenburg Sweden
2016 “Off-season” and “Take-off”, Scandic Europa, Gothenburg, Sweden
2016 “Back to Nature”, Gothia Towers, Gothenburg, Sweden
2017 “Back to Nature”, Champagnebaren Forssén & Öberg, Gothenburg Sweden
2017 “Off-season” and “Take-off”, Mouche, Gothenburg Sweden
2018 “Off-season”, Studio Rei, Stockholm, Sweden
2018 Selected works, OFY Shop, Miami, US
2019 April, “Invasion”, Mouche Collective, Gothenburg, Sweden
2019 "Invasion", The Photogallery, Halmstad, Sweden
2020 Selected works, Nääs Fabriker, Gothenburg, Sweden
2020 "A faded memory", a collaboration with Wallenstam AB, Gothenburg, Sweden
2021 "Dancefloor", 27th October - 3 December, Nordiska Galleriet, Stockholm
2021 "Dancefloor", Fjällgården, Åre, Sweden
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