Diana Rönnberg
STORMS ON STICKS
happening / 2017
prromenade, Brzeźnieńska Street
Diana Rönnberg spent most of her life by the sea. As a little girl, she lived on the west coast of Sweden, where she moved with her family at the age of eight. Later, as a student, she settled in Gdańsk. “Anyone living by the seaside is familiar with the fickle whims of Neptune. The clouds are rarely white, and the sky is only blue on postcards or on a few summer days. The seaside sky is usually grey-brown, it tastes of salt and impending rain,” says the artist. In this context, it seems strange how many people equate seaside towns with non-stop festivities, an extravaganza of colours and smiles – and it is equally bewildering that seaside bliss is epitomized by fast-food stalls, fried fish, ice cream, waffles and candyfloss. Especially the latter has particular connotations: the fluffy confectionery item invented by the Italians in the 15th century that became popular in Poland under communism.
Diana Rönnberg’s happening for the NARRACJE audience alludes to the market-like atmosphere of a seaside resort. The artist offers festivalgoers candyfloss which, instead of the usual pink or blue, has been dyed grey-brown. Rönnberg’s candyfloss, tasting of liquorice and salmiak, is an autumn serving of sweets, a pinch of melancholy immersed in a cloud of summer memories.
Diana Rönnberg’s installation is carried out as part of the open call for works.
Diana Rönnberg (b. 1983)
is a visual artist, author of video installations and photographer. She graduated in Photography from the Faculty of Multimedia Communications of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań (studio headed by Prof. Krzysztof J. Baranowski). In 2017, she obtained a PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk (studio headed by Prof. Grzegorz Klaman). She has won a number of competitions and scholarships, and taken part in over 50 festivals, solo and collective exhibitions in Russia, USA, Bolivia, Sweden, Germany and Poland, among others. Rönnberg was born in Gorzów Wielkopolski, she lives in Poland and Sweden.