Opening program for The Use of Photography: Borg Mesch and Hans-Olof Utsi

Opening April 16, 2025

16:30, floor 5: Presentation by Niclas Östlind, Professor of Photography at HDK-Valand, on the Borg Mesch Photo Studio.

17:30, floor 3: Exhibition opening.
– Opening ceremony Markerna, a work by Carola Grahn and Nils-Johan Labba.
– Maria Lind, Director of Kin, introduces the exhibition.

18:00, floor 5: Discussion about Borg Mesch with artists Mikhail Tolmachev, Geir Tore Holm, Anja Örn, Hans-Olof Utsi, and Niclas Östlind. Moderator: Maria Lind, Director of Kin.

At the heart of this exhibition are roughly sixty photographs by Borg Mesch’s (1869–1956), depicting Kiruna’s earliest years—the construction of the railway to the Atlantic coast, the magnificent northern landscape, and the Sámi Indigenous population. Some of the photographs were included in the exhibition organized by Studio Borg Mesch in 1950 to celebrate the city’s 50th anniversary. Kiruna-based photographer Hans-Olof Utsi has documented how Mesch’s images are used throughout the city: they appear on the façade of the swimming hall, in hotel lobbies, and in nursing homes.

The exhibition is part of Kin’s multi-year project Borg Mesch: A Photographer in Sápmi during the Colonial Period, which takes its starting point in the life and work of photographer Borg Mesch. The project examines how photographic archives continue to influence and shape contemporary understandings of identity, land rights, and cultural heritage in Sápmi. With the aim of creating new works within their respective fields, seven artists working in the field of photography have been invited to immerse themselves in Mesch’s work. In addition to Utsi and Östlind, the artists Geir Tore Holm, Mikhail Tolmachev and Norrakollektivet are also participating. The project is being carried out in collaboration with Kiruna Municipality’s Culture and Education Administration, which manages an extensive collection of Mesch’s photographs. Borg Mesch: A Photographer in Sápmi during the Colonial Period is part of Kin’s multi-year thematic thread The Critical Zone.

Curators: Niclas Östlind and Hans-Olof Utsi

Image 1: Hans-Olof Utsi
Image 2: Borg Mesch
Image 3: Page from a photo album about Borg Mesch