Marc Swanson/Johan Zetterquist
God Bless the Children of the Beast is a site-specific installation by Marc Swanson, American and Johan Zetterquist, Swedish, first mounted in 1998 by IASPIS (International Artist Program In Sweden), at Tensta Konstall during Stockholm, Sweden’s year as the Cultural Capital of Europe.
The Cultural Capital year was an exciting one for Stockholm. Creative projects were shown across the country and God Bless the Children of the Beast stood out as one of the year’s highlights, receiving a nomination for best show of the year and garnered a huge volume of media attention.
Tensta Konstall, the art space where it was shown, was in integral part of the show’s impact. A newly opened 7,500-square-foot art space outside the center of Stockholm, the center is located in an area called Tensta, home to immigrants from around the world. The neighborhood seemed the best place to showcase God Bless, and the cross-continental collaboration was a perfect fit for the neighborhood.
God Bless was set up to look like a natural-history museum, breaking up the enormous space into several spaces. The show consisted of photography, sculpture video, installation, sound and light installation, dioramas, vitrines, and murals. All of which were inspired by the artists’ similar life experiences and their memory and relationship to heavy-metal music and it’s culture.
Having God Bless shown in Sweden was very important to the artists being Johan Zetterquist’s homeland. However, Swanson and Zetterquist are both committed to complete the show by having it shown in the US- Marc Swanson’s homeland.
The Cultural Capital year was an exciting one for Stockholm. Creative projects were shown across the country and God Bless the Children of the Beast stood out as one of the year’s highlights, receiving a nomination for best show of the year and garnered a huge volume of media attention.
Tensta Konstall, the art space where it was shown, was in integral part of the show’s impact. A newly opened 7,500-square-foot art space outside the center of Stockholm, the center is located in an area called Tensta, home to immigrants from around the world. The neighborhood seemed the best place to showcase God Bless, and the cross-continental collaboration was a perfect fit for the neighborhood.
God Bless was set up to look like a natural-history museum, breaking up the enormous space into several spaces. The show consisted of photography, sculpture video, installation, sound and light installation, dioramas, vitrines, and murals. All of which were inspired by the artists’ similar life experiences and their memory and relationship to heavy-metal music and it’s culture.
Having God Bless shown in Sweden was very important to the artists being Johan Zetterquist’s homeland. However, Swanson and Zetterquist are both committed to complete the show by having it shown in the US- Marc Swanson’s homeland.
