Just pointless

What is that sitting up on the gable of the building opposite Medborgarhuset? If you approach walking southbound on Drottninggatan, you’ll see the sky and the city reflected by irregularly shaped mirrors high up on the façade of Änggatan 18.

As you come closer, the image becomes a bit clearer. Through a rough dot pattern, we see the hint of a laughing face. The motif is highly contemporary. All around us, in the advertising-filled urban space and in our social media feeds, smiling and laughing faces wash over us. We are constantly seeing ourselves reflected in images of happiness and joy. What is hiding behind all of these images? And what is hiding behind the smiling face on the building wall? What thoughts and emotions does the face evoke in you?

The artwork Just Pointless was erected for OpenArt 2019. The artist behind the image is named Alexandra Hedberg. She wanted to do something that wasn’t too easy to understand. Because public art becomes a part of people’s everyday lives, Hedberg wanted to create an artwork that could have multiple interpretations and be interesting to look at over and over.

As background study for the work, the artist painted copies of laughing and smiling faces she found in advertising images. She chose those images that felt strong, and which spoke to her in some way. Using these models, she made wash drawings with diluted ink, and one these sketches forms the basis for the final image in mirror glass.