Boreal Natural Forest, 2025
Narrative wool tapestry, 214 x 300 cm
The tapestry is inspired by the Kerrosmäki-forest, a boreal natural forest in Dalarna, Sweden. Along the lower black-and-white border of the tapestry, an ancient pine, which has lived in the forest for 350 years, shares its reflections on the changes it has witnessed in the Swedish forests. Its thoughts travel through its underground root communication system, popularly known as “the wood wide web.”
A natural forest is a forest that has never been clear-cut. It is a complex ecosystem shaped over thousands of years and home to a multitude of species. Many of the natural forests that once dominated the landscape of Sweden have been clear-cut, and a significant number of the species that once thrived there are now endangered. If the remaining natural forests are lost, biodiversity gets lost, and with it, ecosystems that may never be regained.
The tapestry’s motif is based on a species survey of the Kerrosmäki-forest conducted by Bergmark and forest biologist Sebastian Kirppu in the summer of 2024. The woven motif features the species found in the forest, including important biodiversity markers such as pine trees in all stages of their life cycles: ancient pines, silver logs, and charred stumps.
Emilia Bergmark, exhibition view, Going, Going, Gone., view on Boreal Natural Forest, 2025, von Bartha, Basel, 2026.
Photo: Finn Curry / von Bartha
Boreal Tree Plantation, 2025
Narrative wool tapestry, 214 x 300 cm
The tapestry is inspired by a boreal tree plantation near the Kerrosmäki-forest in Dalarna, Sweden. In the comic-strip-style graphic of the bottom black-and-white border, a white moose tells the story, from its own perspective, of how Sweden has shifted from being a land rich in forest to one dominated by the tree plantations of the forestry industry. The moose thus acts as first-hand witness to the changes the forests have undergone and to the very real consequences for him and his co-inhabitants.
A tree plantation is an industrial forest, planted for harvesting within 60–100 years. Nearly all trees are of the same species and the same age. Many forest-dwelling species cannot survive in such forests, as these forests lack ecological diversity, continuity, and old or dead trees that can provide shelter and nourishment.
The tapestry’s motif is based on a species survey of the forest plantation conducted by Bergmark and forest biologist Sebastian Kirppu in the summer of 2024. The image depicts the species they found in the forest. The rich biodiversity found in natural forests is missing here, illustrated by the contrast between the two tapestries.
Emilia Bergmark, exhibition view, Going, Going, Gone., view on Boreal Forest Plantation, 2025, von Bartha, Basel, 2026.
Photo: Finn Curry / von Bartha
