patch
catching not so rare plants
more like nuisances at the parking lot
rock bathing sun bug
ember like flies
mend it, thread it
ever present threats
hard needle to thread
hanging on by a thread
stinging nettles
broken skin
plastering over
poking holes
making whole
jump jump from stone to stone
shallow murky green water pools

In Carl Victor Wingren’s PATCH, the gallery is filled with a large patchwork backdrop, a temporary shelter, protective paper held up by sticks. Scattered throughout the space are photographs printed on handmade paper with natural dyes extracted from stinging nettles, seaweed, tansy, and other plants.

The materials used in the works were sourced from parks and beaches around Helsinki, collected from trash cans and thrift stores, or donated by friends. They were combined, blended, cooked and transformed into either pulpy paper, syrupy glue, or perfume-like dyes. The photographs blend into the textured surfaces, obscuring the distinction between image and material. This is doubly true as the images reflect the process itself, providing glimpses of nettle-stung hands, critters taking refuge among plant stalks and curled leaves, the cooking of plant matter, and blurry notes written in the forest.

Scavenging, foraging, and patching offer Wingren a way to break away from and subvert the current commodified form of photographic production. Along with themes of gathering, repair, and transformation, an underlying question emerges: what happens to the art after an exhibition? Does it go into storage, on to further exhibitions, into collections, to friends, or back to the earth?

These works can be laid to rest right back on the forest floor, passed on to a friend, or tossed into the compost bin. Their natural inks are in flux depending on the weather. The dyes are odorous, sometimes in a pleasant way, other times not. Their colours fade with time, they sprawl, they shed, they decay. Moisture may activate some of the starch hidden in the fibre pulp, causing the work to evolve into sticky, soft slime.

Wingren’s intention with PATCH is to consider the life cycle of art, to honour materials through salvaging and patching, and ultimately, to follow their curiosity. The images, the paper, the installation, and its shrine-like display, all stem from impulse and intuition, like a raven collects and arranges forgotten objects.

Carl Victor Wingren (b.1995, Jakobstad) is an artist living in Helsinki and working with circular material practices and plant-based processes. Working in the expanded field of photography, their work highlights the importance of connecting image with material. They graduated with a BA in Photography from Novia University of Applied Sciences in 2019 and with an MA in photography from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2023. Wingren’s previous project GLOOP was exhibited at Galleria Huuto in 2022 and also featured in group exhibitions, including Konepuutarhassa (part of Utopias Lahti 2023) and NIGHT LORE at Pitted Dates in 2024. Wingren’s work is featured in the Finnish State Art Deposit Collection.

The exhibition and the artist’s work has been supported by Svenska Kulturfonden and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike.)

Thank you to Swamp Swap: Art Material Swap and Waste Management Point for free materials and support. Thank you to Kalasataman Seripaja for printing guidance and support. Thank you to M LORE for art and support.

Carl Victor Wingren
PATCH
5–28 September 2025
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte

poem: by Carl Victor Wingren
image: Carl Victor Wingren, PATCH, 2025