Nordic noir: works on paper from Edvard Munch to Mamma Andersson

Showcases the British Museum’s remarkable collection of graphic art from the post-war period to the present day from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

With many works published for the first time, this lavishly illustrated publication celebrates the recent acquisition programme designed to expand the Museum’s holding of contemporary prints and drawings from the Nordic countries. Many of the artists are little-known outside the region and this new title firmly establishes their importance on the world stage. These Nordic artists examine the fundamental themes of nature, the environment, identity and heritage through visually arresting and beautiful prints and drawings.

The overwhelmingly spectacular landscape of the region features prominently in many works – dark fjords, vast uninhabited mountain ranges and heavily forested areas provide a counterpoint to depictions of densely crowded, highly developed urban spaces viewed through the Nordic lens. A growing mood of melancholy and existential angst, emerging from the trauma of the Second World War and the uncertain threat of the Cold War, is often illustrated by a lone, brooding figure. Prints from the 1970s convey a deep criticism of US foreign policy and the Vietnam War, but ironically adopt the iconography of American Pop Art by using striking contemporary imagery and bold use of colour. The Indigenous Sami people living in the northern part of Scandinavia and Russia address issues such as their own heritage and identity within the Nordic world. Regional identity is also explored from pride in the artists’ own native countries to coded references to their ‘Viking’ past. The book also features works by contemporary Nordic artists who are constantly challenging the idea of the ‘perfect’ Scandinavian social world often projected by these countries to outsiders.