Daniel Hygstedt Hansen
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The Perfect Flower and Other Stories from the Eternal Forest

The Perfect Flower and Other Stories from the Eternal Forest

Shown at Galleri BOX in Gothenburg, 2023
Together with Adrián Espinós Ferrero.
Infrared photography, texts, and sound.
Curated by Hannah Giles, Exhibition Text
Podcast about the show: Spotify & Google
Critique: Omkonst & Göteborgs Posten

 
 
 
 
 

The story of the dream in which the perfect flower bloomed. There are many versions of this story, but they all share the image of the perfect flower that blooms at night. The flower that turned impenetrable darkness into an incandescent dawn. This wonderful story spread like wildfire among us. Everyone wanted to hear it, record it, and share it. It is widely accepted as the first story to ever be remembered by the forest.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The story of the sudden disappearance of the humans. Once we noticed that we were free to grow to our heart’s content, we knew that something must have happened. The forest had come unbound, and so, for a long time, we saw nothing but the horizon. To reclaim these spaces that had been lost to us for generations was strange but exhilarating, and the earth and the stones seemed just as pleased by our return.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The story of our History. The stories that make up our history live among us; in our bark and roots, and in between our roots, and in those who travel the air or burrow through the earth. Our history is one that wants to be shared freely with all who wish to take part. It comes to life through sharing and retelling. In return, it offers us insight into a world we could have never imagined on our own.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The story of our dreams, that are similar to our stories, but inhabit another space within us. We’ve been dreaming ever since the first forest rose into the skies above. It’s as much a part of us as the light or the fibers that hold us upright. Our life is a dream, given to us by others, that needs to be returned to the forest when we die.