Żieme, the sculpture by Gozitan artist Austin Camilleri that was the subject of much controversy in Malta some three years ago, is headlining the contemporary art exhibition, The Last Öland Horse (Den sista Ölandshästen), at Kalmar Konstmuseum in Sweden.
The exhibition uses the image of the horse as a vehicle for discussing aspects of power, submission, dependency and freedom.
Specifically, it focuses on the relationship between centralised power and periphery, exemplified by the uneasy historical relationship between the Swedish capital and the Baltic island Öland in the southern, historically gothic region of the country.
READ: Żieme is a challenge for its neigh-sayers
Camilleri’s permanent temporal piece is an investigation into the imagery and manifestations of power. The bronze horse was first exhibited at City Gate, Valletta, for the first edition of the Valletta International Visual Arts festival (VIVA) in 2014.
In 1574 the Swedish King Johan III demanded that all dogs on the island of Öland have one leg cut off to ban hunting by common people of the island on his royal hunting grounds. The whole island of Öland was, at this time, a colony of the Swedish royal family.
The exhibition uses the image of the horse as a vehicle for discussing aspects of power, submission, dependency and freedom
Placing a three-legged horse in the Kalmar City castle gardens connects to this Öland legend, a poetic connotation, as fate often has it when it comes to art.
Exhibiting artists include Shiva Anoushirvani, Austin Camilleri, Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Sasha Huber, Signe Johannessen, Ludvig Löfgren and Salla Tykkä.
Żieme’s participation was made possible by support from the Kalmar Art Museum and the Arts Council Malta’s Cultural Export Fund.
www.kalmarkonstmuseum.se
www.austincamilleri.com