Their story
Wessely is a Swedish artist, photographer and director known for pushing boundaries technically and creatively to create high impact visuals. Incorporating and reimagining themes central during renaissance era art. Life, death and christian mysticism. In Swedish House Mafia - Purgatorium, by Alexander Wessely, he presents the artists through his unique spectrum where the dark, the bizarre, and the graceful meet and visualises the Swedish House Mafia’s journey through Purgatorium, meaning going through a tough and cleansing period that leads to development.
"Alexander has been able to follow our journey like no-one else could. He sees, hears and interprets everything that we do visually. His incredibly strong aesthetics are very near to our hearts and mirrors the journey of life almost perfectly", says Steve Angelo, Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell.
The story: Formed in late 2008, the group has since then reached a world renowned status, with sold out live performances in arenas spanning the globe. With Grammy nominations and records going platinum. After deciding to break up the group in 2013, and explore individual ventures for a couple of years, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Axwell have now reunited, moving towards a resurrection as Swedish House Mafia.
"It has been a thoroughly organic and almost obvious process from the start. For me, SHM is about so much more than just three musicians. They are the definition of a cultural wave and have always been exploring ways to stretch the limits of what is possible. And to be able to present this exhibition together with them at Fotografiska means so much", tells Alexander Wessely.
The exhibition Swedish House Mafia - Purgatorium, by Alexander Wessely, visually interprets the artists mental state and emotions during this period. The title alludes to the fact that human nature tend to develop through adversity, that we go through a purgatorium in the process of change.
"After having been close to all three of them for a while now, I have seen sides of them that not a lot of people get to see. I have tried to interpret their different personalities as much as possible, and I want this to show in every single piece of work that I have made for this exhibition", tells Wessely.
"They all carry different messages. I sometimes see the work as an unconscious projection of myself, kind of like an exorcism but also the other way around. To be able to remove and add details, the things you see in my work are things that never happened..."
