Gustaf Broms, a Swedish artist living in the woods near Vendel, shares a unique artistic journey marked by adventure. Originally a photographer and assistant to Richard Avedon, he felt constrained by traditional imagery. In a radical act during the winter solstice of 1993, he burned all his prior work, realizing the power behind the act was greater than the artworks themselves. This pivotal moment led him to explore new artistic expressions in the mountains of northern India, where he continues to create performance art amidst nature.
After years of being obsessed with making imagery, I had reached a dead end, he says. So, during the winter solstice of 1993, Broms took all of his photographs and paintings to the waterfront in Brooklyn's Williamsburg where he lived, symbolically shaving his head before setting his life's work on fire. I realised that this action was much stronger than any of the work that went up in flames, he says.
Today Broms, 58, is speaking to me from his kitchen via video call. He's wearing a rainbow-coloured knitted jumper and a beanie hat, his long, light grey hair flowing down from under it.
In the early 1990s, the Swedish artist moved to Kumaon in northern India, right near the border with western Nepal and Tibet. Compared with that, this place couldn't be more accessible. It's easy enough to get on a bike if I need something, he shrugs.
So I gathered up the ash and said: This is my first work. It was a real door opener.
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