Rädda Konsten (Save the art)

Artist: Jenny Nordmark
Year of creation: 2024
Placement: Vättern, Jönköping
Technique and material: A 3D-scanned naturally degradable Vättersnipa dinghy made of oyster shells and other materials and a hand-woven sail made of locally grown linen.

About the artwork

Rädda Konsten is an art project and association run by the artist Jenny Nordmark on behalf of Jönköping Municipality. It aims to explore, problematise and test the possibilities of what public art can and should be in Jönköping Municipality and in general.

Båtaktionen (the boat protest), which took place on 15 June 2024, was inspired by Save Lake Vättern and its founder Ingemar Wetterheim’s boat protest in 1988, which gathered around 150 boats for one day to protest chlorine emissions from the Aspa pulp mill. A year later, the mill had radically reduced its emissions. This time the campaign aimed to raise not one but several issues.

The boat protest Rädda Konsten (Save the Art) was led by a boat made specifically for the campaign, a full-size 3D-printed Vättersnipa dinghy, the model for which is on display in Jönköping County Museum. The boat’s sail, woven by Handvävarna i Jönköping (Handweavers in Jönköping), is made from locally grown and hand-spun linen that dates back to the early 20th century. The boat protest was carried out in collaboration with the harbours in Gränna, Visingsö, Domsand, Huskvarna and Jönköping.

The intention is for the Vättersnipan dinghy and sail to have a permanent location in the municipality. More information on this will follow.

Rädda Konsten aims to highlight the people and organisations that protect and work in the area of Lake Vättern in various ways, bringing them together in the common open forum that is Lake Vättern. Associations are an important part of civil society and play a significant role in democratic societies by promoting citizen influence, community involvement and active participation in social issues.

About the artist

Jenny Nordmark (b. 1980) grew up in a village outside Kalix, Norrbotten, and now lives in Stockholm. Nordmark’s artistic practice explores topics related to civil society and democracy, the environment and climate, the local and the global and the implications and consequences of human exploitation of natural resources. Nordmark received a postgraduate degree in art/architecture ‘Of public interest’ from the Royal Institute of Art (2019-2021) and studied set design at Stockholm University of the Arts (2010-2013), Design with a specialisation in spatial design at the HDK-Valand – Academy of Art and Design (2004-2006) and architecture at Chalmers University of Technology (1999-2003).

Nordmark works with art, architecture and scenography.

The artwork is managed by Jönköping Municipality and was anchored west of the marina in central Jönköping during the summer of 2024.