I din röst bor anden till ett språk
Accelerator presents Olof Marsja’s first institutional solo exhibition in Stockholm. For the exhibition I din röst bor anden till ett språk [In your voice dwells the spirit of a language], Marsja has created several new works, which are shown alongside sculptures from recent years. Central to the exhibition is a sound composition that explores a new focus in his practice: the loss of a language and its origin.
Olof Marsja's exhibition 'I din röst bor anden till ett språk' [In your voice dwells the spirit of a language] is presented 14 March – 14 June 2026.
About the exhibition
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 clearly visible in the works, 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 held 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.
I din röst bor anden till ett språk is situated in Accelerator’s underground exhibition space. Marsja imagines the Earth’s surface as a threshold to a place where timelines dissolve and where past lives and the not-yet-born coexist in anticipation of an imminent shapeshifting. He assigns roles and personalities to his works within a personal cosmos where relationality and transition replace the dichotomies that influence contemporary society. In this world-building, there are protective amulets, memoryless characters, spirits moving between the dead and the living, and a group of dancers who freely and joyfully let loose. In their world, there are feelings of being adrift and grief for lost histories, yet also a vital force—perhaps a wind or a spirit—carrying playfulness, exhilaration, and agency.
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.
