Boda: Abandoned
Field notes from an investigation
July – October 2019
Last March, I was invited to give a talk at the Glass-hack symposium at The Glass Factory, an art centre and museum in a former industrial glass production factory in the village of Boda, in Smaland, Sweden.
Today I am packing my bags in preparation for my return in two days’ time. I’m going back for six weeks to investigate abandoned buildings in the village around the factory, a village suffering from depopulation. Ever since the factory closed, people have been leaving, going elsewhere. Leaving behind their former dwellings and former lives. I’m really fascinated to see what traces of the vanished community remain. I will be using a combination of techniques drawn from archaeology, cultural geography and visual art to ‘map’ this changing landscape. This blog will follow the process from its beginnings to the production of an exhibition, and whatever else might happen. When I was first there in March, I glimpsed the possibilities in both the factory itself and the surroundings;
I will be periodically posting updates here, following the project over the next few months.
