Bookshop Situation Series: Indigo/Universe, Björn Bengtsson

Welcome to Index for the release of Björn Bengtsson’s artist’s book Indigo/Universe.

During the evening, Björn Bengtsson and Jasmine Hinks, Index’ Curator of Editorial, will be in conversation, discussing the book and the working process behind the Indigo trilogy.

In recent years Björn Bengtsson has been focused on a series of books he calls Indigo. Exploring the gravity, density and sometimes paralyzing weight of the images he captures, creates and stores, Bengtsson works with a recurring format – reminiscent of the 90s glossy magazine – as a way of processing and channeling these images.

The first in the series was Indigo/Keloid (2018), weaving an abstract narrative between photography, body and memory, followed by Indigo/Sing Shadow Sung (2021), which was arranged around rhythm and movement. In a somewhat labyrinthine fashion, the third publication invites the reader to enter the Indigo universe: through space and time, encountering people and places set against a shifting backdrop of undisclosed origin.

The Indigo title relates to the monochrome cover of all three publications. Dark blue in tone, this opaque layer of color works as a container; a holder for dealing with the overflowing surplus of images.

Björn Bengtsson lives and works in Stockholm. In 2022, his video work Two Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-one Days Part 1 was shown in Tokyo during the Sumida EXPO and in 2021, sculptures featured in the Indigo books were exhibited in Stockholm at StudyForArtPlatform.

The Bookshop Situation Series at Index is based on events to present books, magazines, records and other artistic formats. The bookshop situation is a way to test content, to share it, to distribute it, offering situations to be part of a community of experimental producers and users.