ROBIN LINDSTRÖM & SYNNÖVE OREBJÖRK – the stone sculptors from Värmskog who, through both mythology and geology, give voice to the hidden, and recreate balance and connection between man and nature.
Robin Lindström & Synnevö Orebjörk are the artist couple who live in Värmskog and who in recent years have formed a team in the artistic work as stone sculptors, and they say: ”We are inspired by nature, by the rocks that speak to us. We want to liberate and shape the beings that are already in the rock. We go treasure hunting together and find all kinds of beautiful stones in our secret places. Each stone is carefully chosen. We want to give voice to the hidden and forgotten and recreate balance and connection between man and nature”.
Robin has always been interested in art, mostly by the sculptures of ancient Greeks and Romans and their megalithic buildings. His interest in contemporary art was awakened thirty years ago when he had the opportunity to see the paintings in oil and acrylic by Synnöve Orebjörk. Today Synnöve is his greatest inspiration for creating. His own career began just under fifteen years ago when he worked as a carpenter and shaped wooden furniture. And Robin tells us that ”During a break from work, I saw ’her’, an angel appearing in the log lying on the ground in front of me. Then I took my chainsaw and freed her.” There have been many wooden sculptures since then. One that can be seen today is Syndabocken (the Scapegoat), found in Charlottenberg’s railway park, a public work shaped from oak roots.
A few years ago, Robin was visited by a friend who showed him how to process and shape natural stone. One thing led to another and together they created a sculpture park in the village of Tällberg on behalf of the art collector and owner of Hotel Siljanstrand, Hans-Erik Börjeson.
Robin´s fascination for stone, crystal and geology for many years is today a commitment and adventure that he lovingly shares with Synnöve. To help them, they have Dr. Sanna Alwmark from Lund University and chief geologist for the research at Siljansringen.
Synnöve has always been involved in different kinds of creative activities; earlier mostly painting. It wasn´t until Robin and her became a couple that she first tried sculpting in stone. “And it was a completely different thing! Instead of starting off with a blank sheet of paper I felt like the stone became what it wanted to be. It was so easy!” she says. The stone became like a creature, Salvum, who she felt strongly for. She had a sting of bad consciousness when she put the dremel (the shaping tool) against his cheek, because she felt like she hurt him. Synnöve explains that the self critical thoughts she had earlier in her artistry is almost completely gone when working in stone, since the stone itself is a co-creator.
Among other assignments, Robin and Synnöve are creating the prizes for this year’s winners of the world-famous Swedish skiing competition Vasaloppet. An honorable assignment which has gotten a lot of media publicity. The sculpture “Ullr” for the winner of the men’s class and the sculpture “Skade” for the winner of the women´s class. Ullr and Skade are ancient gods from the pre-Christian Nordic mythology who are described as gods with great skills in skiing.
In the winter of ’23, Robin and Synnöve were given the task of preparing the prizes for this year’s winners of the famous Swedish skiing race “Vasaloppet. An honorable assignment that received a lot of media publicity. The sculpture ”Ullr” for the winner of the men’s class and the sculpture ”Skade” for the winner of the women’s class. Ullr and Skade are taken from Old Norse mythology and are described as god/goddess with qualities as extremely skilled skiers.In the upcoming race Vasaloppet -24, the artist duo has continued to be trusted to produce prizes for the winners.
During the Autumn exhibition, Robin and Synnöve’s stone sculptures are exhibited in both the art gallery and the garden. The visitor gets to experience a series of sculptures formed from unusual stones from different find sites (Dalarna, Värmland and Västmanland. Stones that were formed on our globe with a span of up to two billion years ago up to the newer ones that were formed about 380 million years ago. Several sculptures have been formed in Värmland’s landscape stone Kyanite Quartzite which comes from the mine in Hålsjöberg just south of Stöllet in Värmland. There are also many works in stone that were formed by the meteorite impact in what is now called Siljansringen (the Siljan Ring). From these various stones their essence has come forward. The visitor can also make closer acquaintances by scanning a QR code next to each work.
Part of the exhibition is also set to music by the internationally recognized artist Karin Park with roots from Djura in Dalarna.
Exhibitions start September 30
