sag jag Mattias Johanssons rosa malning for forsta gangen pa Kulturcentrum Ronneby Konsthall. Jag stod och stirrade pa den, mallos, i ungefor tio minuter och bestomde mig for att det var den bosta abstrakta malning jag nagonsin s 7tt. J~g kunde inte forklara exakt varfor, den gick bara pa nago~ sa~t ?ortom. Den ingav mig en kuslig konsla, en konsla som Jag insag att jag inte hade kont pa longe -en konsla av forundran.
_ Speaking Volumes utmanar normen for vad konstnorlig kvalitet ar, och vem som anses kunna uppna den. Utstollningen erbjuder en plattform for sex individer som or konstnorer i ordets sannaste bemorkelse, och samtidigt belyser den de ableistiska• strukturer och system som de fiesta av oss verkar inom och 'medvetet eller omedvetet upprotthaller.
De_~na~IV-publikation or en koncentrerad, borbar version av utstallningen, dor vi ville ge konstnorerna full frihet att bestomma over innehallet pa sina sidor. Om de ville rita ett enkelt streck pa sidan och skicka in det so kunde de gora det (spoiler: ingen nojde sig med ett streck). Jag hoppas att allt dett~ k~n ~ara ett lit~t ~:eg mot ett storre perspektivskifte, en nod~andig omstart pa vagen mot en genuint representativ konstvarld som levererar flera ogonblick av forundran
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October 2021 I saw Mattias Johansson's pink painting for the first time at Kulturcentrum Ronneby Konsthall. I stared at it, speechless, for about ten minutes and then decided that it was the best abstract painting I've ever seen. I couldn't explain to anyone exactly why, it just somehow went beyond. It gave me an uncanny feeling, one that I realised I hadn't felt for a while -a feeling of awe.
Speaking Volumes disrupts the well-established norm of what artistic quality means and who can achieve it. The exhibition provides a platform for six individuals who are artists in the truest of senses, and simultaneously shines a light on the ableist• structures and systems that most of us are working within and consciously or subconsciously uphold.
This DIV publication is a condensed, portable version of the exhibition, where we wanted to give the artists full agency to decide what was on their pages. If they wanted to draw a single dot on the page and send it in, they could have (spoiler - no dots). I'm hoping that all of this can be a small step .towards a larger perception shift, a necessary restart; a truly representative art world that delivers more moments of awe.
ordel for personer utan sarskil licies, behaviours, rules, etc. t e not disabled.
Nar nagot speaks volumes formedlas ett budskap med kraft -utan att manga ord behovs. Det som uttrycks gar bortom det verbala spraket. Upple·velsen blir rumslig -det kan vara en kansla, en stamning, en energi i rummet.
Till denna utstallning har Malmo Konsthall bjudit in sex konstnarer med formagan att skapa verk som talar bortom orden. Med sina distinkta visuella uttryck gestaltar de olika satt att erfara varlden. Genom att undvika strikta defmitioner ' forklaringar och kategoriseringar bjuder de istallet in oss att omfamna mangfald, rorelse och nyansrikedom. Utstallningen rym_merett brett spektrum av drivkrafter och angelagenheter: kartlaggning och varldsskapande, upprepning av monster och rorelser, experiment med farg och komposition. Verken i utstallningen bar " I synliga spar av konstnarernas unika metoder och processer -de ar levande uttryck for personliga tankar och reflektioner, samtidigt som de speglar· den gemensamma erfarenheten av att vara manniska.
Konstnarerna arbetar med en star variation av material och tekniker; allt fran keramik till installation, teckning till performance, maleri till vavning. I utstallningen presenteras de inte var for sig, utanderas verk samspelar i rummet.
• J En gemensam namnare for konstnarerna • ar deras tillgang till supported studiosateljekollektiv som mojliggor for konstnarer t med normbrytande funktionalitet att utveckla sina unika kreativa praktiker och etablera sig som synliga och likvardiga medskapare inom samtidskonsten. Malmo Konsthall har drivit arbetet for att en sadan verksamhet ska etableras i Skane, och under hasten 2025 oppnade den nya ateljen i Malmo.
, Med utstallningen Speaking Volumes vill \ Malmo Konsthall utmana normen for hur vi defmierar konstnarlig kvalitet och oppna upp for samtal om representation inom den samtida konsten.
When something speaks volumes it communicates powerfully without needing many words. What is said often goes beneath and beyond verbal language. It becomes spatial -it could be a feeling, an impression or an energy in the room.
For this exhibition, Malmo Konsthall has invited six artists who speak volumes through their works. Their distinct visual languages each reveal different ways of experiencing the world. In bypassing rigid definitions, explanations and categorisations they instead invite us to celebrate plurality, fluidity and nuance. The exhibition brings together a spectrum of fascinations and urgencies: mapping and world building, the repetition of patterns and movements, and experiments with colour and composition. Bearing visible traces of their makers' unique methods and processes, the works are both living vessels for personal thoughts and reflections, and tangible expressions of our shared experience of being human.
The artists work with a wide variety of materials and techniques ranging from ceramics to installation, drawing to performance, painting to weaving. In this exhibition the artists are not presented separately; rather, their works interact with each other throughout the space. One aspect that unites these artists is their access to supported studioscommunities that enable artists with disabilities to develop their singular creative practices and establish themselves as visible and equal contributors to the contemporary art world. Malmo Konsthall has led efforts to establish a supported studio in the region, and in autumn 2025 the new studio opened its doors in Malmo. Through Speaking Volumes, Malmo Konsthall seeks to challenge normative ideas of how artistic quality is defined, and to create space for conversation about representation within contemporary art.
What things can be red?
Red is my favorite color. I remember it from when I was a kid — I used to be able to see. I saw red in marbles, frisbees and lights. That stuck with me. Now, I’m totally blind and have prosthetic eyes, so it’s easier for me to feel colors. Red feels hot to me. Blue is cold, yellow is warm, white and pink are warm too. Purple is warm, and orange is somewhere in between. I choose colors based on how they feel and how I feel emotionally — it’s easier that way.
When I make patterns of color, I feel each container. I use my hands, my stick, my scratching tool. It depends on how I’m feeling.
Right now, I’m working on the leg of the mannequin. I told Creative Growth Staff I wanted to do a life-size figure. And they said OK! When I took her out of the box, I named her Eliza. I felt happy. I thought about how she might look.
She’s big and beautiful! Yes, she is!
I like working on the arms at home. I’m planning her head: blue eyes, red mouth, yellow nose, green ears. I’m going to give her a hernia, like me. It’s in the stomach, but covered up. She hasn’t had any surgeries. I want people who meet Eliza to know: I’m an artist. And it feels good that my work is going all the way to Sweden. She is friendly. I love her.
For Nicole Storm or skapandeprocessen ett sott att arkivera, dokumentera, bearbeta och kommunicera. Tidningspapper, kartong, brev, post -hon tecknar pa allt mojligt hon kan hitta. Storm sitter sollan stilla nor hon arbetar -hon ror sig runt i ateljen med sina popper, logger till lager med forgglada detaljer och texturer, aker hissen upp och ner, deltar i samtal och drar sig undan i olika horn. Nicole Storm or fodd 1967 i Kalifornien och har arbetat pa Creative Growth i Oakland, Kalifornien, sedan 1995.
Monica Valentines huvudsakliga konstnorliga praktik bestar av forgskimrande, taktila skulpturer tott tockta med sma porlor och paljetter. Hon har jobbat med skulpturer av det hor slaget under storre delen av sitt liv, och processen att skapa or rytmisk, precis och omsorgsfull. Valentine har varit blind sedan fodseln och bor protesogon. Hon or fodd 1955 i San Mateo, Kalifornien, och har jobbat pa Creative Growth i Oakland, Kalifornien sedan 2012.
Monica Valentine's primary artistic practice takes the form of iridescent tactile sculptures tightly packed with small beads and sequins. The process of creating the sculptures, which Valentine has worked with for most of her life, is rhythmic, assured and mindful. Valentine has been blind since birth and wears prosthetic eyes. She was born in 1955 in San Mateo, California and has worked at Creative Growth in Oakland, California since 2012.
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David Cheung har en bakgrund inom ( speldesign och vorldsskapande, vilket starkt phaverdkatfhans sottuatdt sed pa omvat··r1~enochh _ ur en ungerar. n er e senas e aren ar
Cheung fromst arbetat med detaljrika och minutiost utforda teckningar pa popper, dor han homtar inspiration fran fantasivorldar, stoder och djurriket. Hans konstnorliga , uttryck syftar till att skapa starka konslomossiga upplevelser med en glimt -.. · av humor, samtidigt som han introducerar betraktaren for nya unika miljoer. David Cheung or fodd 1983 i Slagelse, Danmark, bor och or verksam i Malmo. Cheung or medlem i Studio Syd (arbetstitel) i Malmo, ett nytt studiokollektiv etablerat av Malmo Konsthall 2025.
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............,..,,·David Cheung has a background in game design and Utt,Lrr:::i~·• world-building, which has strongly influenced his way ... of experiencing the inner workings of the world around him. In the last few years Cheung has worked mostly with meticulously detailed drawings on paper, where he has gathered inspiration from fantasy worlds, cities and animals. Through his work he aims to create powerful FriJ/1.::.ali~~- experiences with a hint of humour, introducing the viewer to new and unique environments. David Cheung was born in 1983 in Slagelse, Danmark, and lives and works in Malmo. He is a member of Studio Syd (working >4 title) in Malmo, a new studio collective established by Malmo Konsthall in 2025.
Mawuepa Kattahs konstnorliga praktik bygger pa ett omfattande personligt arkiv av familjefoton tagna i Ghana under de senaste tva decennierna, och nyare studiobilder av familjen tagna i London. Hon later figurer och monster motas i komplexa, livfulla kompositioner och tillfor en egen stil och perspektiv i forgkombinationerna och de aterkommande monstren som finns i traditionella ghananska tyger. Mawuena Kattah or fodd 1975 och bor och arbetar i London, Storbritannien. Sedan 2007 or Kattah det Peckham-baserade kollektivet
Mawuena Kattah's artistic practice draws upon an extensive personal archive of family photographs taken in Ghana over the past two decades and more recent studio photographs of family taken in London. She brings people and patterns together in complex, vibrant compositions, adding her own flair and perspective to the colour combinations and repeat patterns of traditional Ghanian fabrics. Mawuena Kattah was born in 1975and lives and works in London, UK. Kattah has been a member of Peckham based collective Intoart since 2007.
