Stockholm, Sweden
The theme of my exhibition this year is ‘The flea market’.
The flea market was the early start of my collecting and is still, despite all the digital shopping centers, my most beloved place for searching and collecting. The flea market is unbeatable in its diversity and its surprises, and for the meetings with sellers and other collectors you can meet over a cracked cup from some old world-exhibition.
I have collected matchboxes, labels and other related things for many years, and over the time got a lot of old rare items. What drives me is the history that shows itself in both motifs and execution, cultural history and technical history coexist in every box, and several of my interests meet in my research of the significance of motifs, trade routes and the history of factories. Label by label, I research and write down, collecting pictures and information. It takes time, but the journey itself is worth the toil, as the saying goes.
In addition to the match-related stuff, I collect (though much less intensely, more that I like to buy lovely items) old bottles, tin cans and complete cigarette packets. As packaging for mass consumption, they have a lot in common with the matchboxes, the motifs can often be much the same, and they were not supposed to survive the first owner. I also have a nice collection of old maps and globes, brass candleholders (I use them all) and fine objects from the 1920s. Everything fits well together and what appeals to me is determined in my inner mental museum...
That's why I want to pay tribute to The flea market in this exhibition, where anything can turn up, and the pictures are dream scenarios of a market table! Go find a bargain!
Best regards
Leif
Tema: O Mercado de Velharias
Theme: The Flea Market
