On a hill above the town Cagnes-sur-mer lies the medieval village Haut de Cagnes listed by UNESCO as a “Ville et Métiers d’Art.” At the top lies the beautiful castle, Château Grimaldi, and a museum dedicated to contemporary jewelry, L’Espace Solidor. During four days in June 2026, 11 exhibitions were presented in the museum and the castle, and artists with studios in Haut de Cagnes opened them to the public. The event – Destination Bijou – was organized by the city of Cagnes-sur-Mer and curated by Isabelle Busnel, Sébastien Carré, and Juan Riusech. More info here.

One of the exhibitions was curated by Sofia Björkman / Platina and I / Four had been invited to collaborate in the project that also involved Mats Jansson / Nääs konsthantverk/Nääs castle. The title of the exhibition was The Meaning or Meaninglessness of Life – Jewellery Artists read Pär Lagerkvist’s Guest of Reality.

Between 1923 and 1924, the Swedish Nobel Prize awarded author, Pär Lagerkvist, lived nearby Château Grimaldi in the Haut de Cagnes. Here he wrote the novel Guest of Reality, published in 1925.
The story follows a boy growing up in a small Swedish railway town in the early twentieth century, where his father works as a station porter. During the day he plays with his siblings and watches the passing trains. The scents of nature and a close relationship with his family bring joy and hope, yet the fear that everything might be lost fills him with dread.

The novel revolves around the existential vulnerability of human life. The boy is constantly troubled by religious doubts, anxiety, and a paralyzing fear of death, his own and that of those close to him. In his search for meaning, he comes to embrace doubt and the possibility that life itself may be without meaning. In the exhibition the invited artists presented their own free interpretations of the book.

For a long time I had felt that I wanted to embroider and one day I decided it was time. After a while I noticed that I was embroidering hair on a scalp. It started a long chain of thoughts. Thoughts about aging, hair thinning and falling out, turning gray, making you change your hairstyle. Hair that can’t be seen, hair that gets shaved off. Dreams about curls, straightening perms, extensions and hair transplants. My mother thinks I should dye my hair blonde, my boyfriend wants me to let it grow long. All my friends think I should have short, back-combed hair even though it falls into a Nick Carter hairstyle when the hairspray wears off. I would prefer to have a long ponytail that swings when I run, but my hair is thin and soft, and with more and more gray hairs that I don’t really know if they scare me or if I like them. They are a sign of ageing. A sign that I’m moving closer to the end – a thought I haven’t yet found a good tool to handle.

On The National Day of Sweden, June 6, a solo exhibition by Rebecca Burkhalter opened at Villa Ingeborg in Cagnes-sur-Mer. This exhibition was curated by Mats Jansson / Nääs konsthantverk/Nääs castle and hosted by Rivieraklubben. We were invited to present our exhibition at Château Grimaldi and also go to listen to the national anthem and other songs by the Sankta Birgitta-choir.

The days in Cagnes-sur-Mer offered a lot of interesting lectures, fantastic art pieces and wonderful wonderful meetings with wonderful people. I returned back to Umeå with stiff legs, a head full of thoughts and new experience and the warm feeling you get after crawling around in work, laughs, discussions and creativity. Thank you so much Isabelle Busnel, Sébastien Carré, and Juan Riusech for all your work arranging this. Thank you Sofia Björkman / Platina for inviting me to take part and thank you Konstnärsnämnden / IASPIS for the travel grant.