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Institutet
© Gunnel Wåhlstrand
Institutet
Institutet
Photo: Åsa Lundén/Moderna Museet

Institutet

by Gunnel Wåhlstrand
Artist (Sverige, född 1974)
Alternate Title
  • The Institute
Date2005
MediumInk and wash on paper
DimensionsBildmått: 170 × 131 cm
ClassificationDrawings
Credit LinePurchase 2005
Countries
Sweden
On view
Stockholm
RoomGallery 01:19
Object NumberMOM/2005/120
About the artworkWhat does our history do to us? Which memories remain, and which are lost? We are at the Swedish State Institute for Racial Biology in Uppsala. On the windowsill is the well-known sculpture The Thinker from 1904, by sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917). In Gunnel Wåhlstrand’s ink wash, the shadow describes both the dimly lit room, and what it means when something ends up in the shadow, as a metaphor for events that have not come to light. The image reminds us of the oppression suffered by several groups of people as a result of the activities of the Institute for Racial Biology. It conveys a reality that has only been acknowledged in recent years.