Vittranbonaden - "Has a sensual symbolism"

One of the county's most popular works of art is Paul Sahlin's old Jämtland bonad, with typical motifs from the county and a text that begins with "In Jämtland is artut to be". Now Frösö Handtryck has produced a modern version of the classic work - with shells and exotic fruits.

Art is free and its purpose is to evoke emotions. These were the starting values that the designer Carolina Sardal Jerhov went in with when she, together with Frösö handtryck, decided to make a new interpretation of the classic Jämtland bonade, but adapted for our time rather than Paul Sahlin's more agricultural 1900s.

The result is a screen print in ten colors, with a large shell at the center of a series of symbolic motifs taken from the Mediterranean region and the text "In the forest dancing whites, to them raise your glass, under the sun and all her stars' clear light". The seashell and the fruits are flanked by field bindweed, a stubborn weed that has begun to spread to southern Norrland in recent years, and over it all stretches a starry sky with moon and sun.

- Stars, moon and the incredible sunlight, that's Norrland for me. I had never seen anything like it before I came here," says Carolina Sardal Jerhov.

She recently graduated with a master's degree in textile design in Gothenburg, and it was at the end of her three-month internship at Frösö Handtryck on Thursday that she presented her work to the public.

She believes that the very purpose of the new Jämtland bonade is that it does not resemble Paul Sahlin's model.

- I have used Pauls Sahlin's way of building up the composition, with top layers, bottom layers and a middle layer. But I didn't want to make a copy, and there are no rules for stylistic approaches, because that's how new art forms are created, and evoking emotions is what you want," says Carolina Sardal Jerhov.

The reason she has chosen to put a seashell at the center of the bonad's motif is that it is nature's only true design object. It is made of a dead material that is nevertheless created, shaped and built upon by the creatures that inhabit it. The shell is the first known accessory with which early humans adorned their bodies and is often used as a symbol of female sensuality and sexuality.

- Even the papaya and pomegranate have a sensual symbolism. What I want to do with it is to appeal to a new generation of women. Especially young, controlled and talented girls with the message that it is actually okay to be girly, flamboyant and messy," says Carolina Sardal Jerhov.

As different as the new bonade is from the original is the way she has composed the motif.

- I have created it using artificial intelligence. I have instructed Chat GPT what I want, in text form, and received back suggestions. Then I developed these in dialog with the program until I was satisfied. It has been interesting to use such a modern method on such a traditional craft," says Carolina Sardal Jerhov.

The bonade is screen printed in six colors. Yet the eye perceives ten, because Carolina Sardal Jerhov has used a technique called overprinting, where the colors are printed over each other, creating new shades.

She has created 67 unique copies of the bonade, with the hope that they will strike the right chord with the young generation of Jämtlanders she is targeting.

- Parents usually think that bonades are a bit cheesy, but my generation thinks it's cool. I really want people to like it and want to have it in their home," says Carolina Sardal Jerhov.

Text: Marcus Berglund, Östersundsposten