Pictures for sale @ Urban Artroom 1209!

10 of my pictures will for an unspecified period of time be available for sale as signed  large limited edition high quality prints at a local gallery called Urban Artroom 1209. At a low cost as well. http://shop.textalk.se/se/artgrp.php?id=30937&grp=1705683

AMANITA

Animal Collective put out a new record this week, which inspired me a great deal. One of the new songs were called "Amanita", which is the name of a mushroom (Amanita Muscaria or Amanita Pantherina) that's really common in Sweden. Children are thaught to avoid it at all costs as people think it's poisonous, and deadly at that. This is not true at all, though it is a strong deliriant with some really disturbing effects, causing hallucinations and intense changes in perception. It has been used by shamans as a tool to reach the spirit world in many cultures and has been consumed by human beings for thousands of years.
This is mainly the theme of Animal Collectives song, with a bit of fairy tale influences, but as I read about peoples experiences with the mushroom I thought that the lyrics for the track "Father Time" might actually describe the effects of this mushroom more correctly (so I'll post them below). People who eat this mushroom describe getting caught in a time-loop that's horrifying, feeling like they are trapped in hell. As time passes, though - if they do not panic - they can alter this loop to experience extreme emotional states of religious extacy and comfort. And as the loop reaches its end most people who can remember the experience afterwards (it seems to be dreamlike and fade away quickly) feel like they've discovered the meaning of life, the universe, everything.

"Open up your locket does solidarity breed from a good foundation?
Things speed out of date now you can be falling and when your up it's blown
Up with all new buildings painted they're not your
Colors and all the places you went to you don't get what they offer and hey
That's Nathan but didn't he pass a long time ago?
Where'd he go?

We exorcised the weekend now all the demons can't play but they snuck into
Thursday
Looking out for panthers from the road again but didn't they pass a long
Time ago?
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/animal-collective-father-time-lyrics.html ]
Luck it's not it's real. No it's not real
Maybe it's only real when lightning landed and hit you right where you were
Standing
Or when your imagination shows you what only time is supposed to tell you
Then I imagine time he's got real big hands and bigger plans
From a long time ago

And did I remember suitcase and all the things in my head and all the
Expectations of doing something special
I could be gone today
But where do they take me?

Luck it's not real though my feelings say it's real
Maybe it's only real when someone blinds you when they had always been so
Kind to you
Imagination won't get moldy can't wait for time to unfold me
Then I imagine time he's got real big hands and bigger plans
From a long time ago"

In Siberia Amanita Muscaria is the incarnation of a god, the god of lightning. In India it's called "Soma", the god drug. Some argue that combining weed with this mushroom is the best way to consume it.

I have not tried this mushroom myself, and would not recommend it to anyone, as the effects seem far from pleasant, but here's some links for those of you interested in learning more about it anyway:
http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=68309
http://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Amanitas.shtml


And here's a link to Animal Collectives new record, which you can listen to for free on their website:
http://radio.myanimalhome.net/

Here's some of the photographs I used to make this picture.
I do not own the copyrights to these pictures. 

SPACE OF LOVE

Sometimes when I make a picture and look at it afterwards, I can't really decide if it is disgusting or pretty. This is one of those pictures, and I think it reflects much of my own emotions when i try to think about love. Somewhere deep inside I guess I believe love to be the reason of existence - atleast of human existence, and since I am a human being, I would like to think of love as the reason of everything, not just my own nature. I know it sounds corny, but i guess as you grow older, you stop caring if you're corny or not.
So, what are my feelings towards love? I'm not really sure. Sometimes I feel like love is what makes everything so hard, frustrating and disgusting. Sometimes I feel like love is what makes everything easy and pleasant, and is that supreme flavour that gives meaning to all this we call life. I guess the truth is somewhere in between.

As I am quite tired right now, I may re-edit this post at a later date. Probably not. And I haven't really decieded if the picture is finnished or if it needs more work. But I guess it will have to do for now.
Peace!

For Cilla

Here's a picture I made for my friend Cilla Leyni (left). It's based on a photo of me and her.

Happy Eye

Another sloppy picture I made in a short amount of time, but I still like it somehow. I wanted to do something that showed how we humans are connected to eachother, but I guess I messed up. Anyways, it's atleast somewhat detailed, and the colors are kind of nice.

Untitled

I've been thinking about doing a picture like this one for some time now, and when I got started it didn't take me more than a couple of hours to finish. The result isn't exactly what I had in mind, as I wanted the shell to mutate into an old smiling man with a beard and not a screaming woman, but I guess it's close enough.

The inspiration for this picture I got partly from a dream (a really weird one!) and partly from some equally weird new age video that I watched by accident on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oSePXRbW9o). The video itself is kind of wacky until about 3 minutes into it, but I guess it's worth a look ( if you're as spaced out as I am you might even enjoy it!).

So, what am I trying to express with this screaming woman/seashell? Well, I actually wanted to make a picture that would make people smile - I wanted it to express joy and a feeling of unity with nature (or something equally cheesy), and not weirdness and agony as it does now. But sadly I still seem to be quite uncapable of doing any such thing.

As a sidenote I'd like to mention that I've become quite interseted in Throatsining lateley (especially throatsinging from Tuva), which may also have been something of an inspiration for this picture. Here are some of the songs I listened to while making it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLF7Fl4SXh8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNAKH4KdRY0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYqrWRiS204
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAd9UhhS61E
Enjoy!

EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL (another picture for my mother and her husband)

I've been thinking a lot about life lately.
I've been thinking about us humans, about my friends and my family, about our surroundings, about other animals and about nature.
I've also been thinking of how much I take these things for granted, and this has resulted in some kind of mushy sentiment that I can't seem to shake. And I don't want to shake it either.
I somehow feel like everything is beautiful, and that everything always has been beautiful and always will be beautiful. Even ugly, scary or disgusting things like war, violence, shit, intestines, dogs, hate, love, horses, vaginas and Christmas trees seem beautiful to me these days, and it's confusing me. Even scaring me sometimes.
Everything seems so very complex, yet delicate and simple.
Anyhow, I guess I wanted to make a picture that reflects just a fraction of these thoughts, of this state of mind that I'm currently in. And I also wanted to make a picture for my mother and her husband, because they always tried to tell me that the world was exactly this beautiful place that I've just recently realized it to be. I mean, every time I've been depressed or felt like things were unfair or sometimes outright unbearable, they've always been there for me. And for the first time since I was a child I can really see it again. And that's just amazing.

Here's the pictures I used to make this one. They were found with googles image search engine. I have not made/taken them and do not own the rights to them.

Cannabis with Justin Bieber

In English:
Cannabis is probably the most common drug I've tried to get some inspiration from for my psychedelic picture series, but strangely one of the pictures I've had most trouble finishing. Maybe because the drug itself inspires more laughable and less serious associations, and often is depicted as something that only makes you more or less stupid; maybe because the cartoonish pictures of people under the influence of this drug are so many, and that makes it a lot harder to do something original yourself. On the other hand I'm not making these pictures because I want to do something new or try to be original, but because these are pictures I would like to have hanging on my own walls. I hope the humor of this latest project hasn't taken over too much, though. My intentions are not to make over the top cartoonish parodies of drug addicts (such as poor mr Bieber), but it isn't to do difficult and serious art either.

If you blow up this picture to it's original size by right clicking on it and selecting "show in new tab", please note the small faces on the slices of sausage that covers the pizza-sun. Another thing you should notice is the wrong proportions of the right arm - which of course is something I did intentionally.

I am especially happy with the effect of the three mouths, somehow making it hard for your eyes to focus. Beyond that there isn't much I can think of to say about this particular picture. Justin Bieber continues to be a cool dude who likes drugs, and I hope I haven't completely run out of ideas when I'll get on to my next picture, which I think will be an interpretation of what happens when you do psilocybine/psilocine (magic mushrooms).

På Svenska:
Cannabis är nog den vanligaste av de droger jag hämtat inspiration från i min psykedeliska bildserie, men var konstigt nog den svåraste hittills att få klart. Kanske därför att det finns så mycket klichéer kring vad som förväntas av ett THC-rus att det inte riktigt kändes nyskapande att göra den här bilden. Men å andra sidan gör jag inte de här bilderna för att de ska vara nyskapande, utan för att det är bilder jag själv skulle vilja ha hängande i mitt rum. Jag hoppas dock att humorn i mitt senaste projekt inte tagit över för mycket. Min avsikt är verkligen inte att göra pompösa skämtteckningar, samtidigt som det kanske inte heller är att göra överdrivet svår och seriös konst.

Notera gärna alla de små ansiktena som pryder korvskivorna på pizzasolen, och det faktum att högerhanden som håller hamburgaren är helt ur proportion - vilket såklart är medvetet.

Speciellt nöjd blev jag med de tre munnarna som nästan får det att klia i ögonen på en (eller i alla fall på mig). Annars finns det inte så mycket att säga om den här bilden. Justin Bieber fortsätter vara en skön snubbe som knarkar och jag hoppas att jag inte har fått helt slut på idéer när jag ska börja med nästa bild, vilken jag tror kommer bli en psilocybininspirerad sak.

Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf (the game)

In English:
A while back I made some conceptual artwork for the band Fucking Werewolf Asso, and here's a couple more. These new pictures however, are not for a CD or a Show, but for a game that my brother, Jonatan Söderström (better known by his nickname "Cactus"), and the singer of Fucking Werewolf Asso, Dennis Wedin, made together and will be selling after the bands live gigs in the future.

The game is a mish-mash of 2D platforming, first person 3D and much more. Most of the inspiration for these pictures comes directly from the game itself, which will be available on CD-rom in a 7" cover for a couple of bucks.

På Svenska:
För ett tag sedan gjorde jag lite konceptbilder till bandet Fucking Werewolf Asso, och nu har jag gjort ett par till. Dessa är dock inte till någon skiva eller spelning, utan till ett spel som min bror, Jonatan Söderström (kanske mer känd som cactus), och sångaren i bandet, Dennis Wedin, knåpat ihop och ska sälja vid en spelning på pusterviksbaren ikväll.

Spelet är ett hopkok av 2-D plattform, förstaperson 3D, buttonmashing och massa annat. Det mesta av bilderna jag gjort är taget direkt från moment i spelet, som går att köpa upptryckt i 7" format på CD för en billig slant.

ENG: Here you can listen to Fucking Werewolf Asso:
SV: Här kan du lyssna på Fucking Werewolf Asso:
http://www.myspace.com/fuckingwerewolfasso
ENG: And here you can check out my brothers games:
SV: Och här kan du kolla in min brors spel:
http://www.cactusquid.com/