Patterns of Peace: Ida Johansson’s Mediterranean Metamorphosis - Friends of Friends / Freunde von Freunden (FvF)

For me, life is the biggest creation we have. I try to be present, to find joy in everything I do, and and try to stay connected – with the planet, the universe, and everything that surrounds me. It’s a natural part of my being to find play in every day life. Everything is kind of an illusion – so everything can be transformed. So the gold can potentially be everything or nothing. It’s about losing identity, to be free. If we are made of nothing, then everything is possible. There are so many rules in our society, and once I let go of them, then I find my own way, more freedom in my expression.

I see Stockholm as a checkered, wool fabric. Heavy, thick, black and white. Barcelona is much more movement – a fabric that moves with the wind, quite thin, and it would have some abstract colours. And Mallorca – that has to be connected to the heritage of the island: It’s the reed, woven, from the place where we live. From nature. Mallorca is the most difficult one, the present place, where I am right now. If I put a label on it, it kind of gets smaller.

Walking in nature – I love the ocean, but also the mountains, the forests. I like to go to Son Serra di Marina between Colonia and Santerra – it’s a very natural beach. And Cala Torta – we go there by horse, with our kids. We walk, and they go by horse. 

It’s currently on pause, since last autumn. It was a big part of my creative world, and made me who I am today. It was amazing to start the sisterhood – we started before “me too”, where creative women could meet up. Something different, great conversations. It was very meaningful. It drove me to be there for other women. I am very fortunate, as many of my friendships originate in Muses of Now.

For me, community is everything. I am very much a tribe person. To be in a community, particularly with small kids, is so important. Living in a small village, we help each other. The school is the main meeting point of everyone in town. When we moved to Mallorca, we were ready to be more alone than in Barcelona. But the polar opposite happened. We have so many spontaneous gatherings – we meet for lunch, lunch becomes dinner and so on.

My teapot – I just got it for Christmas from my mother, and it’s a Swedish artist. Most of the things we treasure at home are either from Sweden or from Mallorca now. I love tea. All the different herbals, the Yogi teas, green teas, citrus flavours. Every time of the day is a good time for tea. 

But if there was a fire at my house, I would definitely also save a few more things, if I may: My set of handmade silver sami spoons for dessert – I inherited them from my grandma. My family is from the north of Sweden and the Sami people are the indigenous people from there. The spoons are amazing artisanal work from my roots and mean a lot to me. Whenever I have dessert I use them, and it brings glamour and happiness to each bite.

I would definitely also bring my hard disk where I store my photos: It’s a journal for me, with memories from the past that will always be part of my present.

And I would bring my cowboy hat that I got from Luciano, my partner. He brought it from Argentina, where he is from. I love hats and to use them just gives personality to any simple and comfortable look.

All my drawers are super messy, most of them at least. I am quite chaotic, but I need things to look beautiful and neat. When I open the drawers I see myself.

I do love silence, especially at home, as we hear all the noises of the nature. Birds singing, the wind, the trees – that’s the best music at home. But I also love having music – it often sets the vibe. This New Years Eve, we moved all the furniture and danced, any music that makes us smile – cheesy stuff, 80ies dance music, salsa. When I’m with people, I mostly have music around. And when I’m alone, I often use music to lift my mood. I listen to a lot of instrumental music – Olafur Arnalds, for example, or Hermanos Gutierrez. They are very popular here, and have been for a few years. And Tommy Guerrero. 

Having worked so much in photography, I am convinced that light changes everything. I love natural sunlight the most. Otherwise, in winter, I need candles – the Swedish coziness comes out a lot.

In terms of smell, I use a lot of essential oils, lavender, palo santo, salvia. When I want to connect, I like to burn Palo Santo, it renews my energy.

Not for me. I have changed my rhythm a lot. When we came here first, both me and my partner Luciano were always thinking “what are people doing?”. I now spend more time enjoying life here, also since I have kids. You do what you need to do, and make it quick, as it’s more fun to be outside. You’re always on vacation mode over here.

Questioning everything, not taking everything as a given. What we learn at school is one truth, but there might be another one. Don’t believe the first answer you get – there are always many to every single question.

My next step in my art is trying to be even more spiritual. I am a very spiritual person, and I want to merge it into my art even more. When I do things, it’s always a dialogue with the material. Mostly I don’t have a strict frame, it’s very intuitive. The material and I make things together.

I come from fashion, and I still have my feet in it – so I don’t really want to judge the industry. But for me my art is a way to make more sense. To create meanining, being more aligned with my surroundings, to value other things than just the fast-paced world.

Well… I think vulnerability is always present in my work. What drives me is doubting everything. To be captivated in identity is one of the things that incommodates me a lot. We allow ourselves to be many people within the same person. If we let that out more, we can all be freer.

I would love to meet Hilma af Klint, even though not talking about art would be tough. Spirituality would be a great topic, or even what she likes to do in her free time. She had this amazing movement, together with other women. And she was a big inspiration for Muses of Now. I am fascinated about how connected she was to all the dimensions around us, and also how she lived – very isolated. All very inspiring.

What scares me is to make just one thing. A lot of artists decide on one thing they do and then continue the same thing again and again. The one thing that drives me is to make people question what’s beyond the every day, to create more meaningful moments, and that can come out in many ways and disciplines. Last year, I did a performance at CCA, and we sang and danced in the forest – that’s one thing I really want to do more. To create rituals, involve more people. 

We’re also buying a house right now in Son Serra de Marina. And that of course scares me, and is exciting at the same time. That’s my next big adventure. If everything goes well, I’m going to have a very nice studio there.

She’s a real weirdo. That gives me permission to be anyone I want to be. The crazy one in Tarot, that’s me.