Puppet theatres and marionettes shed light on man’s relationship to themselves and society in artist Ellinor Åslund’s work Den mekaniska teatern (The Mechanical Theatre), which can be experienced in Lund for a limited period of time. The work is part of the collaboration between Akademiska Hus and the Public Art Agency, where art takes up space on campuses around Sweden.
Three angels, a crow and a thief play the main roles in Ellinor Åslund’s puppet theatre. Through songs written and performed by Ellinor Åslund herself, fables, historical events and everyday details are woven together into an existential exploration of the forces that drive man and the roles they play in society. The work examines the concept of enlightenment – both as an educational and democratising opportunity, but also historically as part of a mechanisation and rationalisation of people and society where the more elusive and irrational are difficult to place within a streamlined and rational society. It therefore risks being forgotten and relegated to the shadows of society.
Through the theatre, Ellinor Åslund directs a spotlight towards these issues in three separate scenes. A first scene can be experienced near the LTH Faculty of Engineering, with lights and a soundtrack exploring the theme of man as a puppet. A second scene is presented with a richly ornamented, baroque ceramic puppet theatre stage near the Biomedical Centre, and with a soundtrack exploring the idea of society as a mechanical theatre. A third scene, which revolves around man’s possibilities for action in society, is played out with a soundtrack from a caged puppet of human size at the LUX Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology.
As part of the artwork, Den mekaniska teatern will also be performed live, on site, a couple of times during the exhibition period through singing and performance by Ellinor Åslund. The work is part of the project Upplyst (Enlightened), which aims to implement an initiative on temporary art with a focus on artistic light design during the winter of 2025 to the spring of 2026, to explore how art can contribute to strengthening a connected and dynamic campus with a focus on meaning-making, knowledge, dialogue and immersion.
Artist biography Ellinor Åslund
Ellinor Åslund (b. 1991) is a multimedia artist who often works with sensual and grotesque so-called world-building to convey poetic narratives in a combination of installation, video, sculpture, music and performance. She has an MFA from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (2025), as well as a BA in Aesthetics from Uppsala University. She has exhibited at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Den Frie and Wilson Saplana Gallery in Copenhagen, among others.
Art on campus in collaboration with Akademiska Hus
Temporary projects result in artworks that are exhibited for a shorter period of time and create new opportunities for everyone involved. The temporary works enable the testing of new methods, new technology and new ideas about what public art can be. The processes are faster but the designs are, just like with permanent works, site-specific. During 2025, the Public Art Agency is working on the visibility of art on campus areas through temporary art projects in collaboration with Akademiska Hus.