• photography Sandra Myhrberg
    fashion Filippa Finn

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    Joshua wears

    suit & shirt HUGO
    shoes Talent's own

    Ludvig wears

    suit HUGO
    shoes Artist’s own

    An Interview with Joshua Idehen & Ludvig Parment

    Written by Emelie Bodén & Filippa Finn by Filippa Finn

    In this interview with Joshua Idehen and Ludvig Parment discuss their collaboration, born from Ludvig's admiration for Joshua's live performance with Benin City. Ludvig envisioned Joshua as a solo artist, leading to a unique collaboration with a focus on Joshua as the primary brand.
    They touch on the balance of creative input, emphasising evolving trust for fruitful collaboration. The interview explores the evolution of their sound, with Joshua gaining confidence and prioritising honesty. Ludvig notes the shift from overwriting to leaving room for lyrical finesse.
    Distinctive production techniques, like the use of a choir in the chorus, are discussed as signatures of their work. Looking ahead, Joshua envisions exploring lounge music with poetry and dreams of an orchestral album, while Ludvig expresses a desire for unconventional ventures, including jazz exploration. The interview offers insight into their dynamic partnership, hinting at exciting possibilities in future projects.

    How did your collaboration come about, and what drew each of you to work together?
    LUDVIG:     I think what drew me to it was seeing when I saw you live for the first time in Benin City. I've respected you since hearing your music, but when I saw you I thought why isn't Josh doing a solo thing, he really needs to find a producer that can get the essence out, and I didn't even think of myself at the time. That's sort of why I've been like what we're doing absolutely shouldn't be a band; we shouldn't have a band name, this has to be your brand and you need to be the one like the main focus.
    JOSHUA: We've known each other since 2016 and tried to work with each on several occasions. You sent me music but I was too involved with my own projects. At one point you produced a few of Benin City's songs in 2018 but that was as far as it got for a while, we were both kind of like in different relationships for want of a better word uh we never really found anything that kind of was us at our best. And then when I moved to Stockholm, both of us were free of everything else we're doing and in a space to do  something new. This was in 2021: you know, i still have the first email when you had sent the first demo of Don't You Give Up On Me, and you were like “er yeah i don't have any ideas and i just worked on this for an hour so tell me what you think”and then i sent you something back just going “yeah i just wrote this the today in my kitchen about so a couple of caveats i think we should get a choir” anyway, the rest is history:

    How would you describe the balance of creative input between the artist and the producer in your collaborative process?
    LUDVIG:     I think we both have a lot of space to do our own thing. I've never really worked this for this long with the same collaborator before, so I tend to view the way Josh writes to everything i do as a version of feedback, like okay, that enforces my decision on where I take the music and future music next.
    JOSHUA: Our process has definitely evolved since when we first started. On the first mixtape you made the beats and then you sent it to me and then I essentially wrote to that, and I would have sometimes I'd have some feedback in terms of “here's what I want to happen with this verse” but now there's a lot more trust in the process. For example, we have this demo, where you sent the beat over and I wrote to it, and I had thought the chorus was somewhere completely different from where you thought the chorus went but you went along with my arrangement, and then you tore out some of my lyrics to give the track more space and the song is better for it. Just the two of us allowing the other a bit of space in the play pit and bouncing off the ideas and happy accidents.

    How has your sound evolved since you began working together, and what factors contributed to those changes?
    JOSHUA:     I'm definitely more confident. I'm playing more with the rhythm in bars and also not resting too much on rhyming. Allowing for more space: there are a few tracks on the mixtape that, if I did them now, I would most definitely rip out whole sections and just allow the music to breathe. Also not trying too hard to be clever when I can just be honest, lol.
    LUDVIG: I tended to overwrite stuff before because I just made a beat and I didn't know who was going to be on it so I always had to make sure everything's in there. But now that I know how you work, how you write, I can leave much more room for you.

    Can you discuss any favourite production techniques that have become signatures of your collaborative work?
    JOSHUA:     choir in the chorus for sure! i think that's a definite signature like, no one else is kind of doing those.
    LUDVIG: combination of three things: dance music, spoken word and a choir, the last one we're using it less and less now right but it is something that I think does definitely mark us distinctly from everybody else yeah. we're not using that many sort of like tricks like we just we're writing songs
    JOSHUA: Maybe that's our problem, maybe we need some tricks

    Are there specific musical or creative territories you want to explore together in upcoming projects?
    JOSHUA:     oh well i think uh i would like us to do a lounge album like KHRUANGBIN but with poetry, definitely an album with an orchestra.
    LUDVIG: It would be really nice to do something else like super left field yeah like where we can really just be unhinged, and jazz.

    Joshua wears

    suit HUGO
    shirt HUGO
    shoes Artist’s own

    Ludvig wears

    suit HUGO
    shirt ETON
    shoes Artist’s own

    Joshua wears

    pink suit HUGO

    shirt HUGO
    shoes Artist’s own

    Joshua wears

    black suit HUGO

    shirt HUGO
    shoes Artist’s own

    Ludvig wears

    shirt ETON
    trousers ROSE & BORN
    shoes Artist’s own

    Joshua wears
    shirt ETON

    Ludvig wears
    shirt ETON

    photography Sandra Myhrberg
    fashion Filippa Finn
    hair & makeup Vanessa Eriksson Tonelli
    photography assistant Rebecka Barlach

  • Photo by Joakim Forsgren

    Fatima Moallim and the will to live

    Written by Natalia Muntean

    “I think art that displays inability and insecurity is more rewarding,” says Fatima Moallim about her approach to being an artist and creating whilst being plagued by feelings of doubt.

    Born in Moscow to Somali parents and raised in the million program outside Växjö, Moallim is a self-taught artist and has gained recognition for her performative works, particularly her unique approach to drawing using chalk, pencil, sharpie pens, and oil crayons. Moallim's works are spread across various mediums, from drawing and sculpture to performance and installation, creating a seamless blend of memories and present moods.

    Fatima Moallim has Moallim has exhibited site-specific works at Moderna Museet Stockholm, Gothenburg Konsthall, Marabouparken, Zinkensdamm subway station in Stockholm and on the glass facade of Bonniers konsthall. She is represented in the collection of the British Museum, Moderna Museet, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Ståhl Collection, The Statens Konstråd’s collection, Vinge Advokatbyrå Collection and was the 2022 Iaspis Studio Grant Holder ISCP, New York. Her latest exhibition, “Viljan att Leva,” currently showcased at Konstakademien until March 2nd, provides the audience with a glimpse into Moallim's inner world.

    Natalia Muntean: Could you tell us more about your exhibition “Viljan att leva”? What themes or concepts are explored in this collection of works?
    Fatima Moallim:     Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts – an explosion of my inner thoughts that I can’t get rid of. I see buildings, structures, and the city’s inner forms and corners. I get stuck with an image in my head, and it can take weeks or months before all of a sudden I see myself in the studio in front of a huge finished drawing. It’s almost like it just appeared.

    NM: How did the experience of living in New York influence and shape the pieces displayed in this exhibition?
    FM:     I lived in New York for a year, right next door to the Whitney Museum. I spent a lot of time in front of the large works by all the great artists that you never get to see in Sweden. That inspired me to work bigger and bolder. I don’t think I would have done the same kind of work if it wasn’t for my New York scholarship.

    NM: You mentioned that your creative process is neurotic, and you often doubt the quality of your work. Can you elaborate on how this doubt contributes to the authenticity of your art?
    FM:     It is easy as an artist to hide behind elaborate details or gestures. That doesn’t interest me. I think that art that displays inability and insecurity is more rewarding.

    NM: Your previous works, such as “Flyktinglandet,” explored your family's journey from Mogadishu to Moscow and eventually to Växjö and Gislaved. How has your Somali heritage influenced your artistic journey, and do you continue to explore it in your current work?
    FM:     When I set the titles for my work I think it comes easy to me thanks to my Somali heritage. In the nomadic lifestyle, poetry and storytelling were the most important creative act and Somalia is one of the strongest poetic nations. I grew up with poetry and literature as a natural part of everyday life.

    NM: Could you share more about the relationship between Various Artists and your visual art, particularly in terms of improvisation and collaboration?
    FM:     For me, starting a band without knowing anything about music, has a lot to do with exposing yourself to uncomfortable situations. In that sense, it is similar to what I try to achieve with my drawings. That said, I collaborate with extremely talented artists, like singer Sofia Jernberg and sculptor Ida Ida Ida. My band has been my greatest obsession since I started it. I use ordinary objects to make sounds, like an electric toothbrush, keys and a pencil sharpener. I sometimes invite people with little or no experience playing instruments to perform. A concert is a success when there are both moments of beauty and cringe.

    Portrait by Joakim Forsgren

  • Photos by Jean Baptiste Beranger, © Bernar Venet, courtesy of the artist and Wetterling Gallery Stockholm.

    Bernar Venet is disorganising order

    Written by Natalia Muntean

    Renowned as a “giant of contemporary art,” Bernar Venet, born in 1941 in Château-Arnoux, France, has spent over six decades pushing the boundaries of artistic expression. As the most internationally exhibited French artist, Venet's radical style reimagines traditional sculpture forms and extends into various artistic realms, including monumental corten steel sculptures, painting, performance, poetry, sound, design, and photography. 

    From January 25 until March 8, 2024, Wetterling Gallery is showcasing Venet's latest works in an exhibition called “Disorganizing Order”. The exhibition features recent sculptures, drawings, and paintings by Venet and serves as a canvas for the artist's overarching “principle of equivalence.” This guiding principle, transcending disciplines, encapsulates his latest theoretical explorations, centred on concepts like entropy, unpredictability, and self-reference. At the core of the exhibition are the recent Collapses (Effondrements) - stacks of Arcs arranged by chance and gravity, challenging the traditional vertical structure of sculptures and offering a delicate balance between unpredictability and mathematical precision. The exhibition's final room features paintings from the Diffeomorphism (Difféomorphisme) series, where Venet digitally distorts scientific texts, creating a contrast between surface confusion and logical-mathematical formulas.

    There is an interplay between order and disorder, precision and unpredictability, that dominates Venet’s works, adding depth and complexity. It encourages viewers to contemplate the balance between control and chance, while also challenging traditional artistic norms and inviting a closer examination of the relationships between opposing forces in his creations. With works in over 70 museums worldwide, Venet continues to captivate global audiences from his dual bases in France and New York.

    Photos by Jean Baptiste Beranger, © Bernar Venet, courtesy of the artist and Wetterling Gallery Stockholm.

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