AT KOMME HJEM
Anne Nowak (b. 1976)

How do you return to a place that no longer exists?

This question lies at the heart of Anne Nowak’s exhibition AT KOMME HJEM (Coming Home).

The point of departure is the artist’s own upbringing in the harbour town of Nexø on the island of Bornholm during the fishing crisis of the 1980s, when a central part of the island’s economy and identity changed dramatically.

As a child, Nowak witnessed how the harbour, almost overnight, went from being filled with fishing boats to standing nearly empty. Fishing quotas and structural changes in the industry hit Bornholm hard, and many families lost their livelihoods. A culture and way of life that had sustained generations collapsed.

A sense of loss, but also resilience and the necessity of creating something new, form the core of the exhibition.

Materials such as granite, mirror, plastic and steel are interpreted in site-specific installations, where nature, memory and transformation are interwoven.

Anne Nowak’s practice often revolves around sensory transitions, reflective moments and perspectives, with a characteristic experimental approach to how materials can carry both personal and collective narratives. In AT KOMME HJEM, the nature and history of Bornholm are drawn directly into the works: seaweed and algae collected along the coastline, granite from the island’s quarries, recycled plastic from local recycling stations, and mirrors and metal elements reflecting the light of the sea.

The exhibition opens up a concrete chapter of Bornholm’s recent history while also pointing to more universal experiences such as loss, memory, reconciliation and renewal.

See more here and visit the exhibition

Photos by Totem