05/03/2024
A World Shaped by Stories
"In the Breath of Demons" is a multidimensional art project that explores the human struggle—both internal and external—through poetic realism. Drawing from psychology, history, philosophy, and religion, the project delves into existential questions, spirituality, and the fragility of human nature. With a distinct balance between darkness and beauty, it creates an artistic experience that moves, challenges, and evokes empathy.
Artistic Approach
Through a unified storytelling technique, various art forms intertwine—text, animation, live action, imagery, and photography. Each medium acts as a lens, capturing human emotions, conflicts, and dreams. With a surreal touch, themes such as mystery, crime, and the supernatural come to life, where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, and the invisible takes shape.
Fantasy, Belief, and Dehumanization
At the heart of the project lies childhood memories where reality was often blurred by fantasy. A home filled with strong religious beliefs and stories of spirits became a place where the unreal took form and became truth. It explores how a story, a belief, or a fear can become so powerful that it reshapes the physical world—how what we believe in alters what we see.
The story of Detective Ida and the priest Anton reflects this theme. Anton dedicates his life to exorcisms, while Ida dismisses them as superstition. But as she faces events that defy logic, her perception of reality begins to waver. This is about more than faith and skepticism—it is about what happens when we are confronted with the things we have been taught to fear.
The supernatural elements of the project also mirror something deeply human: our tendency to create monsters. Throughout history, certain people have been demonized, labeled as trolls, creatures, or curses, simply for being different. Christianity once claimed to have driven out the trolls, but in truth, it was people who were cast out, punished, or exiled. Even today, individuals lose their humanity in the eyes of others—they are transformed into something to be feared, hated, or rejected.
It is a process that repeats itself time and time again. When we create stories about "the others," when we reduce someone to a word, a caricature, a shadow, they become easier to dismiss. Societies have always needed to identify enemies—sometimes in myths, sometimes in reality.
"In the Breath of Demons" examines this mechanism. How we make the invisible visible. How we dress fears in symbols. And how a story can shape reality more than we realize.
Music:Johan Segerberg
Participants:
Child: Gertrud Sandegård
Ida: Kajsa Bohlin
Entitie: Kristján Ingimarsson
