Photography exhibition: Temporarily closed

During the pandemic, photographer Johan Sellgren took photos of his daughter in empty cultural institutions. A temporary exhibition of his photos is now on view at the Swedish History Museum. On view June 17 – August 27, 2023.

Background

In the spring of 2020, a global pandemic put culture on pause. Cinemas stood empty, theatres lacked audiences and museums had no visitors.

Questions were raised about the significance of culture. What happens to a society when it has no active cultural life? What role does culture play in people’s lives – how does it affect our view of ourselves and of the world?

To investigate some of these questions, photographer Johan Sellgren conducted a project together with his daughter Selma, then five years old. Selma was photographed as a lone visitor in empty public spaces.

Photo: Johan Sellgren.

The exhibition

One of the places that opened its doors for Selma and Johan was the Swedish History Museum. In the exhibition you can see this photo and a selection of Johan’s other photos from the series.

Photo: Johan Sellgren.