As part of the opening day of I din röst bor anden till ett språk [In your voice dwells the spirit of a language], Accelerator invites you to a conversation between artist Olof Marsja and Therese Kellner, the exhibition’s curator.

Drawing on his deep material knowledge, Marsja combines organic and industrial materials with mass-produced objects in sculptures and installations. Birch burls, glass, timber, plastic, nylon, aluminium, curly birch, birch bark, stainless steel, wool, hide, pelt, silicone, reindeer antlers, lassoes, slippers, sports socks, and outdoor clothing come together in formations where the sense of time shifts between the ancient and the ultra-new.

The imprint of the hand is ever visible in Marsja’s practice, conveying inherited knowledge and a visual language passed down from ancestors through family patterns and doudji. Marsja’s growing interest in genealogy has influenced the exhibition, and individual pieces have been inspired by the structure of a family tree. In Marsja’s speculative family tree, the materials, the knowledge of the hand, the spoken language, the land, the mountains, and the river all hold equal significance. The connections within the tree – between the living and the dead, and between the lost language and that of the ancestors – are bound together by the names, the yoik and the wind: the wind that has travelled across the land, passed through throats, shaped voices and carried the language.

Saturday, 19 October
The talk begins at 13:00 in Accelerator Café
Duration: 1 hour
Language: Swedish
Free entry, no registration required

About Olof Marsja

Olof Marsja (b. 1986, Sweden) explores collective and personal history through a mix of traditional craftsmanship and industrial materials in his sculptures and installations. In his merging of Sámi and Swedish elements, stories of identity, place, cultural heritage and history emerge, characterised by both sincerity and humour.

Marsja studied at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, and the Sámi Education Institute in Jokkmokk. He has held solo exhibitions at 1646, The Hague, the Netherlands (2025); Örebro Konsthall (2025); Dalsland Museum of Art (2024); and the Sámi Center for Contemporary Art in Karasjok, Norway (2021–22). His work has been shown at, among others, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York; Kiasma, Helsinki; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale; Luleå Biennial; Havremagasinet, Boden; Göteborgs Konsthall; Bonniers Konsthall; and The Röhsska Museum. In 2019, he received the Maria Bonnier Dahlin Scholarship, and in 2023, he was awarded the Sten A. Olsson Cultural Scholarship.