Lisen Stibeck

Undertow shows us that openness and freedom of the mind continues throughout life. If we just pay attention to what goes on in the corners of our mind, life continues to develop and grow richer through the years, as layers of experience – both lived and dreamed – builds up within.

Amanda Svensson

Undertow

Undertow explores the world of dreams, memory, alternate realities, and parallel lives. These pictures were born somewhere beyond the reach of my conscious self; images that I have then attempted to translate into photography, drawing inspiration from the places that have always inspired me in my work – Sweden, Morocco, France, Mexico, and Iceland. Many questions are raised, and none are answered. How do we shape reality to fit our imaginations, and vice versa? Can we prepare ourselves for the unexpected without losing unguarded spontaneity from our lives? What do we choose to remember, and what is left behind, lapping against the shores of our mind?

Audition

Creativity is that marvellous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.

Max Ernst

Women in the Flow

Bold shapes and muted colors mark the at times mysterious images of Women in the Flow: Strong faces, hidden identities, subtle shadows and fragments reflecting memories of love, youth and beauty… a narrative of women between centuries and cultures, between ancient traditions and brand-new identities.

Lisen´s pictures look like movie stills to me, like there are other parts to the story outside the frame.

Mary Ellen Mark

Daughters

as I became intrigued by the idea of a photographic study of young women aged 16 – 25. I felt from the outset that the project should represent a spectrum of young people from varying socio-economic backgrounds, from privilege to poverty. What did they share and what set them apart on their journey from girlhood to womanhood?

I wanted to capture the gamut – from the confusion of the teenage years through the formative years, after a young person has left home and begins to define their path in life.

This is the period of the greatest challenge and risk as these young women begin to form an identity. I found my mission in capturing both the sense of vulnerability they felt as well as the promise of future ambitions and dreams.

I ended up traveling for 4 years around the world, working in seven countries meeting young women. The whole experience was hugely insightful for me as I listened to their stories, asked many questions and as I was gaining their trust, earning the privilege to capture their most intimate selves on film.

(My photographs are an hommage to these young women – and a prayer!)

Morocco the treasury of wisdom stories.

Moroccan Moments

Moroccan Moments is an exploration of colorful stories passed on for centuries and my own dreams and meditations on that ancient culture.

If a country could be a poem, it would be Iceland.

Turfhouses and Fashion

Iceland is known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. Reading these sagas and travelling around Iceland I found the most interesting turfhouses from South to North. I could clearly see where Iclandic designers found their inspiration.

EXHIBITIONS:

2022 Undertow
Min Fru
Visby, Sweden
October 10 – April, 2023

2022 Undertow/Women in the flow
Kalkladan
Bungenäs, Gotland, Sweden
June 25 – August 15

2021 Undertow
Galleri Arsenalsgatan 3
Stockholm, Sweden
May 11 – June 19

2020 Daughters
Landvetters Kulturhus
Mölnlycke, Sweden
March 6 – March 31

2018 Daughters
Nordic Light Festival
Kristiansund, Norway
April 24 – April 29

2016 Moroccan Moments
Galleri Sebastian Schild
Stockholm, Sweden
November 17 – December 4

2015 Daughters
Norrköpings stadsmuseum
Norrköping, Sweden
April 18 – August 31

2015 Daughters
Alvarez Bravo Centro
Oaxaca, Mexico
February 20 – March 20

2015 Daughters
Mora Konsthall
Mora, Sweden
February 6 – March 9

2014 Daughters
Fotografiska
Stockholm, Sweden
October 29 – January 18

2014 Turfhouses and Fashion
National Museum Reykjavik
Reykjavik, Island
August 15 – September 15

BOOKS:

Undertow
Published by Max Ström, Sweden 2021

The world of Stibeck’s Undertow is a dream world, only the more intriguing because it is at the same time very concrete and real. Behind the veils of obscurity real people, places, and objects hide, inviting the viewer to reflect on what might hide within themselves. It is art that activates the viewer’s memory, fantasy, self-reflection, all at the same time – basically, all the cognitive processes that are most deeply human. It makes us question who we are, how we became those people, and who we could otherwise have been. That process can sometimes be painful, sometimes confusing – but it is never boring. Sometimes it can even be wildly thrilling, like a childhood adventure.

Daughters
Published by Max Ström, Sweden 2014

Every girl is someone’s daughter. That is the starting point of Lisen Stibeck’s book portraying girls and young women aged between 16 and 25 coming from many different countries.
Stibeck has travelled the world for 4 years, inspired to capture girls from all walks of life: Students, artists, models, prostitutes, belly dancers and mothers.
With great sensitivity and insight, she has focused on these girls’ search for identity during that most vunerable transition from girlhood to womanhood to reveal their delicate, innocent nature.

BIOGRAPHY:

Photographic Artist Lisen Stibeck works on long term projects. Her keen interest in teenage identity developed into her photo book “Daughters”, winning critical attention and international awards.
More recently, her focus turned to the inner landscape of the psyche, opening up a world of dreams and archetypes as she delved into a form of magical realism.
In her latest work, “Undertow”, her b/w imagery carries a suggestion of emerging narratives, at times evoking loss, grief and hope and her brilliant abstract color work is a celebration of life.
Lisen Stibeck is based in Sweden and regularly spends time in Marocco and France.

Photographic Education:

2014–2015: Atelier Smedsby, Paris, France
2010–2014: Mentorship with New York photographer Mary Ellen Mark

CONTACT:

Lisen Stibeck
Fine Art Photography
Sjöviks Väg 2
181 90 Lidingö
Sweden

lisen@lisenstibeck.com
+46705470452

Instagram:
@lisenstibeck

Gallery:
Arsenalsgatan 3 Fine Art
Arsenalsgatan 3
111 47 Stockholm
Sweden

info@arsenalsgatan3.com
arsenalsgatan3.com

© Photography Lisen Stibeck
No part of this website maybe used or reproduced without permission of the author.