Installation at the Glass Museum, 2020
“For hundreds of years the Reijmyre Glasbruk has produced many significant glassware, while at the same time accumulating some of the industrial waste compounds behind the factory and in nature. Bioaccumulation is a term that refers to the human-made toxic compounds, progressively accumulated in a living organism. Through the reference to ex-votos, which suggests a deep concern with the body and health, Somebodies responds to the historical context of the particular ruby red glass making process in Rejmyre, Sweden. It is a narrative corresponding to “slow violence” and social vulnerability and it raises questions of whose bodies/communities have contributed to the history of Reijmyre Glasbruk and what bodies are constantly exposed and build resistance to industrial waster matter.” – Nicolas Cheng
Nicolas Cheng (b.1982) is a jewellery artist based in Stockholm, Sweden. His work Somebodies was part of the research strand and residency program Detox – Clean it up!