Postcards, 15.5 x 10.00 cm.

The series of Postcards on “The Struggle,” was initiated back in 2012, and consist of postcard sized watercolors that reconsider current notions on the value of human struggle and the challenges humans face in achieving even the smallest victories. Prof. Jamesola, from a prestigious University somewhere in France observed: “Although the opposite of a struggle may be to surrender, I believe it’s closer to idleness, the capacity of being the “Dude” who is totally not ready to get this sh#*t back on track.” Other experts have rejected the professor’s claims, but there is a general consensus that this subject needs to be expanded within a larger academic debate.

The Struggle for Urbanization. PtL. Postcard.

The Struggle over History and Theory. PtL. Postcard.

The Struggle for Recycling Waste. PtL. Postcard.

The Struggle for High Speed Internet. PtL. Postcard.

The Struggle for Equitable Communications. PtL. Postcard.

The Stuggle for a Press Conference. PtL. Postcard.

The Struggle to make a Proto Pixelation Study, Studio N. PtL. Postcard.

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The Stockholm Syndrome (TSS). I began teaching in Stockholm at the Royal Institute of Art in 2013, and I resided in the Swedish capital until 2019, when I moved permanently to Rome. Living and working in Stockholm was very rewarding, although the city’s severe housing shortage made it difficult for me to settle in and become comfortable with my Scandinavian settings. Much like other ex-pats living in Sweden, I have very conflicted memories about my time there. The following series of postcards, in vertical format, represent a number of contradictory experiences.

One time, around 2015, I took a trip to Beirut to participate in some academic meetings while staying at a friend’s house. During the week I was there, some colleagues organized a trip to Palmyra but I missed the chance to join them. As destiny would have it, I visited Beirut only months before Isis occupied Palmyra. Back in Stockholm, I found an apartment in a neighborhood located close to a restaurant called Palmyra. I went there often for lunch.

TSS. The Fall of Palmyra. The Rare Bird Xenobia (Zenobia). PtL. Postcard.

TSS. The Fall of Palmyra. PtL. Postcard.

TSS. King Karl Johan as Mars, with the James Turrell effect. Elected King of Sweden, King John was formerly a French Napoleonic General who turned against Napoleon. Here dressed as the god Mars. PtL. Postcard.

TSS. Carl von Linnaeus, famed author of Systema Naturae, one of the most important early classifications on plant species. Here represented wearing Sami clothing, the indigenous native peoples of the North. Linnaeus created a botanical garden at the University in Uppsala as part of his botanical studies. My early visit to Uppsala greatly influenced my own research into climate change and the culture of disasters. PtL. postcard.

TSS. Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated from the Swedish crown in 1654, converted to Catholicism and moved to Rome. She ended her days in Trastevere, in the Palazzo Corsini. The Stockholm – Rome axis remains a serendipitous escape route for others fleeing Sweden’s ridged society (sic). PtL. Postcard.