The work began with a walk along the western coast of Öland. I came to a place a few meters above the shoreline, where the sea’s waves, during powerful storms, had eroded part of the coast. In the compressed sediments, one could imagine time stretching backwards throughout history.
I brought a piece of the clay back to the studio, rinsed it, sieved it, washed it, let the water evaporate, ground it into fine pigment, mixed it with water, and rolled the earth into crayons.
In the drawing process, I wanted to move like the waves of the sea. I placed the paper on the table, let my hand move without stopping, and when the surface was filled, I began the next one.
For me, the drawings are both past and future. The clay is a fragment of a geological process, where the line extends from the paper back through history to when the sediments were formed, when post-glacial land uplift drew the sea back and dried a seabed, and to how the sea now once again rises toward the coast.
56 drawings. Each drawing measures 62.5 × 48 cm. The entire work measures 9.17 × 2.10 meters, including the painted surface. 2025
From the exhibition Between drawing, curator: Sara Hemingsson
Photo: André Lindahl
Helena Wikestam 