A Visit to Fotografiska

Nick Cave and Johnny Rotten.

I had an extra day off the other day so I made a visit to Fotografiska (the Swedish Museum of Photography) to see some of their ongoing exhibitions. Specifically the Anton Corbijn exhibition (which ends soon- Dec 4th) and the recently opened exhibition on Diesel advertising campaigns (runs until Feb 5th).

A trio of 80's icons... Bowie, George and Idol.

Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, mostly known for his work within the music world... portraits, promotional pictures, album sleeves and even music videos. He has worked closely with many major artists like U2, Depeche Mode, Rolling Stones and Nirvana to name a few and has taken many iconic images. This exhibition, "1-2-3-4", is a dive into the photographer's archives. This isn't a "best of" exhibition, in fact many of the 400+ images on display have never been shown before. Instead it is a captivating look at some of the music industry's biggest stars. I am glad I didn't miss it. Only one week left!

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. 

Another exhibition I was excited to see was "Finally it all makes sense", a look at Diesel advertisements from 1991 to 2001. You would have to have lived under a rock during the 1990's to not have ever seen one of popular advertisements for the Italian fashion label Diesel. They were everywhere... in magazines, on billboards and TV. They were often controversial, always colorful and done with tongue-in-cheek humor.

Diesel exhibition.

During this period (1991-2001) their advertising campaigns were done by a Swedish ad company called Paradiset. These award winning campaigns elevated Diesel to a household name and helped them break Levi's stranglehold on the European denim market.

One of the more controversial ads (at least at the time).

The exhibition lays out the different campaigns in chronological order and explains the thought behind each campaign. Back in the 90's I just thought they were funny, bright ads... I was surprised to learn how each campaign actually looked at social injustices and other problems in the world, albeit always in a fun and colorful way. This exhibition runs until February 5th, 2017. Another exhibition is opening this week at Fotografiska: Charlotte Gyllenhammar "Natt" (until March 5th, 2017). Click here to see other art exhibitions going on in Stockholm right now.

Fotografiska is located on the Södermalm waterfront, about a 20 minute walk from the Rival Hotel. While this sounds pretty straightforward, it is a little complicated due to the major construction going on at Slussen which you have to pass on the way to the museum. I don't want to give any exact information on how to pass the construction as it is ongoing. The best tip I can give is to follow the signs (see picture below)! If you are staying at the hotel, stop by and talk to me for up to date information.

Follow the signs to avoid... 

...the Slussen construction site.