Two weeks into the lively launch of our gallery, we speak to the Swedish photographer Helena Blomqvist to hear her thoughts on the opening exhibition ’On the End of Species’.

On Friday, February 24, we opened the doors to our new gallery in Stockholm, and we’ve been kept busy with filled-up gallery floors and inquiries from curious photography lovers. At the centre of attention, we find Helena Blomqvist and the main exhibition ’On the End of Species’ which occupies the majority of the 750 square metre space.

The printed artworks are paired with installations and sculptures scattered around the gallery floor, some of which have been used as props in the images themselves. Some of these scenes require several months of work before the shutter button is triggered. Blomqvist’s images are like snapshots from a fairytale, a frozen frame that makes the viewer wonder what happened before and after that exact moment.

Birdgirl, 2022

What are your thoughts on the exhibition's opening weeks?
“I am very grateful that I got to be the first artist to show my work at Picture This Gallery. It’s such a great location with a huge and beautiful exhibition space.”

Please let us know about the trials and tribulations of hanging your art in a rather large space.
“Each image needs free space around it, and some images look great together with just a small distance between them. A large space gives the opportunity to view the art from a distance, and since my photographs often are printed in a large size, a rather large space is good for the images.”

The prints on the walls are also paired with sculptures and installations on the gallery floor. Why?
“I often get questions about my scenographies and the sculptures in my images, this scenography was the first one I made as an object to be in the exhibition. I think it adds a deeper dimension to the exhibition.”

The Origin of Everything, 2022

In Shallow Water, 2022

How do you go about matching a photo print with sculptures, are they thought of and conceived at the same time in the creative process?
“When I have an idea, I always start with drawing a sketch, then I do what is necessary to create the image, sometimes I make scenographies and sculptures myself, other times I go and photograph something that will be in the image. So these installations are a part of my creative process, and sometimes they are the main character or the most important place in the photo series.”

The photo art in ”On the Ending of Species” is very environmental and shines a light on animal rights. What has been the reaction from gallery-goers and other people at the exhibition?
“I wanted to make a photographic series portraying slow, meditative states, animals quietly observing the plight of the world. The photographs are a requiem to the great disappearance of the world’s animals.”

“The reactions have been very positive to the photo series, many people react with compassion, and they seem to be touched by entering my visual world.”


Picture This Gallery is one of Scandinavia's largest galleries for photo art, located in the historic Tvålpalatset on Södermalm, Stockholm. In the 750 square meter large historical premises, exhibitions by world-class photographers are displayed.