On the anatomy of memory – what is home ?
Tullhuset, Odinsvägen, Dalarö, Sweden
July 2025
This installation was conceived as an intimate conversation, a dialogue between photographer Ernst Brodin and the artist Sara Badr Schmidt, drawing on shared memories to give rise to new ones. Dalarö, the family’s seaside summer retreat, served as a major source of inspiration for the works presented.
These artworks serve as a starting point for broader reflection: what binds us deeply to a place? Is it the house itself, a familiar view, a particular scent, a sound, or a subtle blend of all these elements? The installation explores notions of belonging, identity, and rootedness through a memory that is both personal and universal.
These autobiographical archives are intended to awaken the memories and inner reflections of each visitor. The exhibition is part of a traveling project, ”We left home… but what is home”, initiated by Sara Badr Schmidt in Beirut in the spring of 2024, followed by a second chapter in Paris in the fall, and now naturally expanding to Dalarö, a childhood anchor and the third destination in the series.
Ernst Brodin’s photographs, a key source of inspiration for the project, now take center stage in the installation. In dialogue with the other works, they extend a sensitive meditation on memory, place, and intergenerational connection.