* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Swedish artist Fredrik Åkum uses flowing, luminous media to explore fleeting moments. Using the unpredictable process of snapping Polaroids, Fredrik attempts to capture fleeting moments from Sweden’s short summers, like a bloom or a flag in the breeze. His style is a mix of his intention and the serendipitous interaction of the fluid materials he uses.
He translates the images into watery paintings that drift between observed reality and daydreaming.
“I like to work with liquid paint; a lot of water, inks and acrylics, so some parts of the painting is more or less uncontrollable. So parts of the painting will be working with each other without my full determination. There is something akin to Polaroid film in this. You have the material and the motif, but to control the outcome is not always possible” says Åkum.
"Akum taps into a a number of conceptual veins in contemporary painting: nostalgia, memory, retro-graphics, anonymity, poverty glam, and disillusioned youth to name a few. Akum goes further than most, however, tying these elements together into a seamless whole and overcoming the skulking postmodern skepticism, pessimism, and sarcasm that frequently accompanies these motifs. It’s also worth noting the artist boasts a broad portfolio marking no barriers between painting, photography, or installation art."
