I am happy to announce an art exhibition I have been working on together with Rickard Ljungdahl Eklund, it will be opening on September 15 as part of the GIBCA Extended program:

In the exhibition Never Again ◎, Eklund and Salquist explore the Claviceps purpurea, an ergot fungus that grows on the ears of rye, wheat and barley, and has caused outbreaks of mysterious suffering throughout the ages. It may also have been at the core of a forgotten psychedelic ceremony.

The exhibition follows an ethno-botanical trail and iconography from popular culture to ancient times and the Eleusinian Mysteries. For 2,000 years, this goddess-focused rite was practised every September, providing a mythological explanation of seasonal change, and a way of overcoming the fear of death. The exhibition adds a black grain of historic significance to the biennial GIBCA as a recurring myth-conveying festival, and its deiknumena, ‘things shown.’

Rickard Eklund and John Salquist studied at Valand School of Fine Arts. This is their first exhibition together at the artist-driven Upper Hand gallery in Gårda, Gothenburg.

Opening Hours: Tuesday–Friday 1–5 pm, Saturday–Sunday 12 noon–4 pm

Upper Hand, Tritongatan 5, Gothenburg, Sweden