In the exhibition at the Thomas Wallner Gallery, Emil Z. Ekberg shows a series of new works. With his large scale and detailed collaged drawingsin which layers of paper, graphite and narratives alternate, Ekberg creates his own pictorial universe and contemporary expression.
The animal has been given a central position in the concept of existential and contemporary issues concerning the relationship of the real and the unreal, man and nature, civilisation and demise. The dogs in the collaged drawing The Elk are charged with symbolic and metaphorical value as they act according to wild instincts while in the service of man slayinga great elk – a noble savage. Further on, in an almost painterly fashion the overgrown yet thriving and in a sense liberated garden in the collaged drawingThe Garden becomes a symbol of a compelling wilderness forcing man into a position ofweakness. As the drawn scenes may inspire to recall motifs of western historical painting, Ekberg has his very own expression that often places the decadent and the uncomfortable next to the beautiful. The questions that arise are new and turn tocommentsin the debates of our time.

Emil Z. Ekberg posits an MA in Fine Arts from the Malmö Art Academy where he graduated in 2011. He has previously exhibited his works in Gothenburg and Malmöamongst other places, and is represented in the collections of the Malmö Art Museum.

Nina Kurdve, Art Historian and Curator at Västerbottens Museum