“Fairytales arise from our need to process and to be able to tolerate reality. I wanted to create a fairytale world for us to rest in for a moment, now when so much of the worlds feel so dark,” says artist Ellen Ehk Åkesson.

From Ellen Ehk Åkesson’s earliest childhood memories, she has been deeply fascinated by, and has studied in detail all of the patterns, color palettes and brilliant interacting plant systems of the forest. “Caves, giant boulders and crooked old trees are like extras in my games,” as she puts it. “I was also frequently in touch with older relatives and others – through them, I had access to all the stories and tales of the forest.”

She has always been particularly captivated by mushrooms, which are a continuous source of inspiration in her work – this mystical life form, neither plant nor animal, which is utterly essential to the organization and decomposition of life. As a result of Ehk Åkesson's fascination with mushrooms, Wonderland was introduced in 2022. A collection with unique sculptures in a subtle color scale, made by the master craftsmen at Kosta Glassworks. Each Wonderland sculpture is signed by the artist.

“I’m drawn to working with styles that I can’t completely control,” says Ellen. “I wanted to make a wonderland in offset scales – an internal place with things that influenced me as a child. Mushrooms are incredible. We don’t know very much about them. Trees communicate through mushrooms, for example. And they have chemical, shamanistic, psychedelic properties that are being researched more and more.”