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Jörgen Thornberg
Like a bird on the wire, 2023
Digital
70 x 70 cm
Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Three lines opening Leonard’s ‘Bird on the Wire’. Leonard always began his concert with this song. He said that it returned him to his duties. The song took him years to finish. He started on Hydra in 1966 under his muse’s supervision and finished in a motel in Hollywood in 1967, rearranged and changed repeatedly and, according to Leonard, never perfect. However, good enough for all of us his admirers, maybe his most famous song, which tells a lot with such a competition.
Leonard was unhappy to see modernity arrive when electricity finally came to Hydra and even worse when telephone wires were installed. He preferred oil lamps and candles and was happy to go to the post office if he wanted to make a call. ”Now we’ll have to find another place”, Leonard said to Marianne when at the same time, a bird landed on the new wire. “If the bird can get used to the wire,” Marianne replied, “you can get used to the wire.” That settled it.
Please continue reading if you want to know more about Leonard and Pigeons.
It was Marianne who observed the birds as so much else. Leonard was absorbed by his lines of letters and musical notes, but when he looked up, there was this wire. Damn! The telephone poles and electricity, for that matter, remain precisely as they were then; the cables run like spider webs over the alleys and crawl like worms along the facades. When electricity came to the island, many felt called to install like a roper who thought twining was like twining. It wasn’t good for him. The craftsman was electrocuted when wetting the copper wire as he was used to with his hemp rope.
The diesel power plant occasionally ran in the evenings and mornings. At about the same time, municipal water and sewage were drawn on the island. Imagine the smells. "Outside the houses of the rich, the swarm of flies thickened while the smart bugs shunned the homes of the poor. Maybe those with nothing smelled worse because the bad smell was all they could offer. Nothing was left to eat, even for tiny bugs; everything was used and reused. Among these poor families, the smallest breadcrumb mattered. Flies know that smell makes no insect fat, only pure shit the rich could offer.
Judy Collins recorded the song in 1968 before Leonard. His version hit the market a year later on ‘Songs from a Room’. Leonard was lucky. Bob Johnston, known for his work on Bob Dylan’s landmark mid-60s albums, produced it. The strings he applied to “Bird On The Wire” coat Cohen’s tale in just the right amount of tenderness and light.
Cohen’s music has shown catnip for artists looking for cover material. His bird has proved incredibly fertile ground, perhaps because it’s one of the Canadian bard’s most elastic melodies. In addition to Collins’ early take, numerous notable artists have performed excellent song performances, including Fairport Convention, Joe Cocker, The Neville Brothers, Tim Hardin, and K.D. Lang, among many, many others. Even Johnny Cash sang a brooding version that brought the song’s darker elements to the forefront.
That brings us to Maria, the pigeon girl. The picture shows Maria's land. The endless sky and the wire strung between Hydra and Vlychos. On top of Hydra. The world at her feet, a cobbled road leading to Kiafa, where it all began. Even today, it is one of the most populated parts of Hydra. From her strategic position, Maria has a stunning view over downtown Hydra, in the distance Vlychos and below Kamini by the coast.
Where Maria has her nest is the oldest residential area of the town of Hydra, the very place where it all started. It was called Kiafa, meaning “top” in Albanian, a place far from the roaring seas and the pirates of the time.
The first Albanian families to settle on Hydra arrived in the late 15th century after the wars between Venetia and the expanding Osman Empire. They are said to have belonged to tribes fighting on the wrong side, at least according to the peace treaty following the Battle of Sapienza or the First Battle of Lepanto in the Bay of Patras, north of Peloponnese 1499.
They arrived on an unpopulated island used occasionally by fishermen from the mainland. These early Albanians must have returned to their homeland up north because the island was once more abandoned. New wars to come during the 16th and 17th centuries always put poor soldiers and their families out in the cold. Rumours of the distant island must have reached the Albanians because, during the late part of the 1600s, they settled in a more organised way on Hydra and stayed. They are called Arvanites and have been fully assimilated into the Greek nation and self-identify as Greeks.
They built their homes away from what is today the main port, living on the higher slopes above the harbour in an area easily defended against bands of pirates. They named their settlement Kiafa. Just as the dove with excellent control over the surrounding hillsides, the Saronic Gulf, what would become Kamini and Hydra harbours, and in the distance, the Peloponnese and other tribes.
Those immigrants built their new town solid enough to stand still today. Arched bridges over the narrow alleys connecting some of the older buildings, once serving as a means of moving between buildings without entering the streets in case of a pirate attack. At that time, your house was your castle, constructed with high walls and few windows on the outside, all for defensive purposes.
Maria looks down at the cobblestone streets and alleys, glancing at some of Hydra’s oldest homes, numerous chapels and churches, and many picturesque ruins.
This is her territory, Old Kiafa, the Top of the Town, Hydra’s crown ending in the infinity of the feathered blue skies. This is her land, her home, her property; all others are her guests, even if some families have been on the island since the 1600s – Maria's ancestors have been here since the beginning, thousands, and thousands of years, so please be kind to her and Hydra. The old rock is a gift on loan, and Maria a precious gem in the natural collage.
Is Maria aware of all the fuss around her great-great-grandmother sitting on a wire? Indeed! She has told me everything about it. Do ask her yourself when on the island. You cannot miss her. She picks up peas around Four Corner, near Leonard’s house.
Aquila non capit muscas The eagle does not catch flies.
Jörgen Thornberg
Like a bird on the wire, 2023
Digital
70 x 70 cm
Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Three lines opening Leonard’s ‘Bird on the Wire’. Leonard always began his concert with this song. He said that it returned him to his duties. The song took him years to finish. He started on Hydra in 1966 under his muse’s supervision and finished in a motel in Hollywood in 1967, rearranged and changed repeatedly and, according to Leonard, never perfect. However, good enough for all of us his admirers, maybe his most famous song, which tells a lot with such a competition.
Leonard was unhappy to see modernity arrive when electricity finally came to Hydra and even worse when telephone wires were installed. He preferred oil lamps and candles and was happy to go to the post office if he wanted to make a call. ”Now we’ll have to find another place”, Leonard said to Marianne when at the same time, a bird landed on the new wire. “If the bird can get used to the wire,” Marianne replied, “you can get used to the wire.” That settled it.
Please continue reading if you want to know more about Leonard and Pigeons.
It was Marianne who observed the birds as so much else. Leonard was absorbed by his lines of letters and musical notes, but when he looked up, there was this wire. Damn! The telephone poles and electricity, for that matter, remain precisely as they were then; the cables run like spider webs over the alleys and crawl like worms along the facades. When electricity came to the island, many felt called to install like a roper who thought twining was like twining. It wasn’t good for him. The craftsman was electrocuted when wetting the copper wire as he was used to with his hemp rope.
The diesel power plant occasionally ran in the evenings and mornings. At about the same time, municipal water and sewage were drawn on the island. Imagine the smells. "Outside the houses of the rich, the swarm of flies thickened while the smart bugs shunned the homes of the poor. Maybe those with nothing smelled worse because the bad smell was all they could offer. Nothing was left to eat, even for tiny bugs; everything was used and reused. Among these poor families, the smallest breadcrumb mattered. Flies know that smell makes no insect fat, only pure shit the rich could offer.
Judy Collins recorded the song in 1968 before Leonard. His version hit the market a year later on ‘Songs from a Room’. Leonard was lucky. Bob Johnston, known for his work on Bob Dylan’s landmark mid-60s albums, produced it. The strings he applied to “Bird On The Wire” coat Cohen’s tale in just the right amount of tenderness and light.
Cohen’s music has shown catnip for artists looking for cover material. His bird has proved incredibly fertile ground, perhaps because it’s one of the Canadian bard’s most elastic melodies. In addition to Collins’ early take, numerous notable artists have performed excellent song performances, including Fairport Convention, Joe Cocker, The Neville Brothers, Tim Hardin, and K.D. Lang, among many, many others. Even Johnny Cash sang a brooding version that brought the song’s darker elements to the forefront.
That brings us to Maria, the pigeon girl. The picture shows Maria's land. The endless sky and the wire strung between Hydra and Vlychos. On top of Hydra. The world at her feet, a cobbled road leading to Kiafa, where it all began. Even today, it is one of the most populated parts of Hydra. From her strategic position, Maria has a stunning view over downtown Hydra, in the distance Vlychos and below Kamini by the coast.
Where Maria has her nest is the oldest residential area of the town of Hydra, the very place where it all started. It was called Kiafa, meaning “top” in Albanian, a place far from the roaring seas and the pirates of the time.
The first Albanian families to settle on Hydra arrived in the late 15th century after the wars between Venetia and the expanding Osman Empire. They are said to have belonged to tribes fighting on the wrong side, at least according to the peace treaty following the Battle of Sapienza or the First Battle of Lepanto in the Bay of Patras, north of Peloponnese 1499.
They arrived on an unpopulated island used occasionally by fishermen from the mainland. These early Albanians must have returned to their homeland up north because the island was once more abandoned. New wars to come during the 16th and 17th centuries always put poor soldiers and their families out in the cold. Rumours of the distant island must have reached the Albanians because, during the late part of the 1600s, they settled in a more organised way on Hydra and stayed. They are called Arvanites and have been fully assimilated into the Greek nation and self-identify as Greeks.
They built their homes away from what is today the main port, living on the higher slopes above the harbour in an area easily defended against bands of pirates. They named their settlement Kiafa. Just as the dove with excellent control over the surrounding hillsides, the Saronic Gulf, what would become Kamini and Hydra harbours, and in the distance, the Peloponnese and other tribes.
Those immigrants built their new town solid enough to stand still today. Arched bridges over the narrow alleys connecting some of the older buildings, once serving as a means of moving between buildings without entering the streets in case of a pirate attack. At that time, your house was your castle, constructed with high walls and few windows on the outside, all for defensive purposes.
Maria looks down at the cobblestone streets and alleys, glancing at some of Hydra’s oldest homes, numerous chapels and churches, and many picturesque ruins.
This is her territory, Old Kiafa, the Top of the Town, Hydra’s crown ending in the infinity of the feathered blue skies. This is her land, her home, her property; all others are her guests, even if some families have been on the island since the 1600s – Maria's ancestors have been here since the beginning, thousands, and thousands of years, so please be kind to her and Hydra. The old rock is a gift on loan, and Maria a precious gem in the natural collage.
Is Maria aware of all the fuss around her great-great-grandmother sitting on a wire? Indeed! She has told me everything about it. Do ask her yourself when on the island. You cannot miss her. She picks up peas around Four Corner, near Leonard’s house.
Aquila non capit muscas The eagle does not catch flies.
Jörgen Thornberg
Malmö
Lite om bilder och mig. Translation in English at the end.
Jag är en nyfiken person som ser allt i bilder, även det jag fäster i ord, gärna tillsammans för bakom alla mina bilder finns en berättelse. Till vissa bilder hör en kortare eller längre novell som följer med bilden.
Bilder berättar historier. Jag omges av naturlig skönhet, intressanta människor och historia var jag än går. Jag använder min kamera för att dokumentera världen och blanda det jag ser med vad jag känner för att fånga den dolda magin.
Mina bilder berättar mina historier. Genom mina bilder, tryck och berättelser. Jag bjuder in dig att ta del av dessa berättelser, in i ditt liv och hem och dela min mycket personliga syn på vår värld. Mer än vad ögat ser. Jag tänker i bilder, drömmer och skriver och pratar om dem; följaktligen måste jag också skapa bilder. De blir vad jag ser, inte nödvändigtvis begränsade till verkligheten. Det finns en bild runt varje hörn. Jag hoppas att du kommer att se vad jag såg och gilla det.
Jag är också en skrivande person och till många bilder hör en kortare eller längre essay. Den följer med tavlan, tryckt på fint papper och med en personlig hälsning från mig.
Flertalet bilder startar sin resa i min kamera. Enkelt förklarat beskriver jag bilden jag ser i mitt inre, upplevd eller fantiserad. Bilden uppstår inom mig redan innan jag fått okularet till ögat. På bråkdelen av ett ögonblick ser jag vad jag vill ha och vad som kan göras med bilden. Här skall jag stoppa in en giraff, stålmannen, Titanic eller vad det är min fantasi finner ut. Ännu märkligare är att jag kommer ihåg minnesbilden långt efteråt när det blir tid att skapa verket. Om jag lyckas eller inte, är upp till betraktaren, oftast präglat av en stråk av svart humor – meningen är att man skall bli underhållen. Mina bilder blir ofta en snackis där de hänger.
Jag föredrar bilder som förmedlar ett budskap i flera lager. Vid första anblicken fylld av feel-good, en vacker utsikt, fint väder, solen skiner, blommor på ängen eller vattnet som ligger förrädiskt spegelblankt. I en sådan bild kan jag gömma min egentliga berättelse, mitt förakt för förtryckare och våldsverkare, rasister och fördomsfulla människor - ett gärna återkommande motiv mer eller mindre dolt i det vackra motivet. Jag försöker förena dem i ett gemensamt narrativ.
Bild och formgivning har löpt som en röd tråd genom livet. Fotokonst känns som en värdig final som jag gärna delar med mig.
Min genre är vid som framgår av mina bilder, temat en blandning av pop- och gatukonst i kollage som kan bestå av hundratals lager. Vissa bilder kan ta veckor, andra någon dag innan det är dags att överlämna resultatet till printverkstaden. Fine Art Prints är digitala fotocollage. I dessa kollage sker rivandet, klippandet, pusslandet, målandet, ritandet och sprayningen digitalt. Det jag monterar in kan vara hundratals år gamla bilder som jag omsorgsfullt frilägger så att de ser ut att vara en del av tavlan men också bilder skapade av mig själv efter min egen fantasi. Därefter besöks printstudion och för vissa bilder numrera en limiterad upplaga (oftast 7 exemplar) och signera för hand. Vissa bilder kan köpas i olika format. Det är bara att fråga efter vilka. Gillar man en bild som är 70x100 men inte har plats på väggen, går den kanske att få i 50x70 cm istället. Frågan är fri.
Metoden Giclée eller Fine Art Print som det också kallas är det moderna sättet för framställning av grafisk konst. Villkoret för denna typ av utskrifter är att en högkvalitativ storformatskrivare används med åldersbeständigt färgpigment och konstnärspapper eller i förekommande fall på duk. Pappret som används möter de krav på livslängd som ställs av museer och gallerier. Normalt säljer jag mina bilder oinramade så att den nya ägaren själv kan bestämma hur de skall se ut, med eller utan passepartout färg på ram, med eller utan glas etc..
Under många år ställde jag bara ut på nätet, i valda grupper och på min egen Facebooksida - https://www.facebook.com/jorgen.thornberg.9
Jag finns också på en egen hemsida som tyvärr inte alltid är uppdaterad – https://www.jth.life/ Där kan du också läsa en del av de berättelser som följer med bilden.
UTSTÄLLNINGAR
Luftkastellet, oktober 2022
Konst i Lund, november 2022
Luftkastellet, mars 2023
Engleson Galleri Caroli, april 2023
Hydra, Greece June 2023
Engleson Galleri Caroli, oktober 2023
Toppen, Höllviken december 2023
Luftkastellet, mars 2024
Torups Galleri, mars 2024
Venice, May 2024
Luftkastellet, oktober 2024
Konst i Advent, December 2024
Galleri Engleson, Caroli December 2024
Jäger & Jansson Galleri, april 2025
A bit about pictures and me.
I'm a curious person who sees everything in pictures, even what I express in words, often combining them, for behind all my pictures lies a story. These narratives, some as short as a single image and others as long as a novel, are the heart and soul of my work.
Pictures tell stories. Wherever I go, I'm surrounded by natural beauty, exciting people, and history. I use my camera to document the world and blend what I see with what I feel to capture the hidden magic.
My images tell my stories. Through my pictures, prints, and narratives, I invite you to partake in these stories in your life and home and share my deeply personal perspective of our world. More than meets the eye. I think in pictures, dream, write, and talk about them; consequently, I must create images too. They become what I see, not necessarily confined to reality. There's a picture around every corner. I hope you'll see what I saw and enjoy it.
I'm also a writer, and many images come with a shorter or longer essay. It accompanies the painting, printed on fine paper with my personal greeting.
Many pictures start their journey on my camera. Simply put, I describe the image I see in my mind, experienced or imagined. The image arises within me even before I bring the eyepiece to my eye. In a fraction of a moment, I see what I want and what can be done with the picture. Here, I'll insert a giraffe, Superman, the Titanic, or whatever my imagination conjures up. Even stranger is that I remember the mental image long after it's time to create the work. Whether I succeed is up to the observer, often imbued with a streak of black humour – the aim is to entertain. My pictures usually become a talking point wherever they hang.
I prefer pictures that convey a message in multiple layers. At first glance, they're filled with feel-good vibes, a beautiful view, lovely weather, the sun shining, flowers in the meadow, or the water lying deceptively calm. But beneath this surface beauty, I often conceal a deeper story, a narrative that challenges societal norms or explores the human condition. I invite you to delve into these hidden narratives and discover the layers of meaning within my work.
Picture and design have been a thread running through my life. Photographic art feels like a fitting finale, and I'm happy to share it.
My genre is varied, as seen in my pictures; the theme is a blend of pop and street art in collages that can consist of hundreds of layers. Some images can take weeks, others just a day before it's time to hand over the result to the print workshop. Fine Art Prints are digital photo collages. In these collages, tearing, cutting, puzzling, painting, drawing, and spraying happen digitally. What I insert can be images hundreds of years old that I carefully extract so they appear to be part of the painting, but also images created by myself, now also generated from my imagination. Next, visit the print studio and, for certain images, number a limited edition (usually 7 copies) and sign them by hand. Some images may be available in other formats. Just ask which ones. If you like an image that's 70x100 but doesn't have space on the wall, you might be able to get it in 50x70 cm instead. The question is open.
The Giclée method, or Fine Art Print as it's also called, is the modern way of producing graphic art. This method ensures the highest quality and longevity of the artwork, using a high-quality large-format printer with archival pigment inks and artist paper or, in some cases, canvas. The paper used meets the longevity requirements set by museums and galleries. I sell my pictures unframed, allowing the new owner to personalise their artwork, confident in the lasting value and quality of the piece.
For many years, I only exhibited online, in selected groups, and on my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/jorgen.thornberg.9. I also have my website, which unfortunately is not constantly updated - https://www.jth.life/. You can also read some of the stories accompanying the pictures there.
EXHIBITIONS
Luftkastellet, October 2022
Art in Lund, November 2022
Luftkastellet, March 2023
Engleson Gallery Caroli, April 2023
Hydra, Greece June 2023
Engleson Gallery Caroli, October 2023
Toppen, Höllviken December 2023
Luftkastellet, March 2024
Torup Gallery, March 2024
Venice, May 2024
UTSTÄLLNINGAR
Luftkastellet, oktober 2022
Konst i Lund, november 2022
Luftkastellet, mars 2023
Engleson Galleri Caroli, april 2023
Hydra, Greece June 2023
Engleson Galleri Caroli, oktober 2023
Toppen, Höllviken december 2023
Luftkastellet, mars 2024
Torups Galleri, mars 2024
Venice, May 2024
Luftkastellet, October 2024
Konst i Advent, December 2024
Galleri Engleson, Caroli December 2024
Jäger & Jansson Galleri, April 2025
Utbildning
Autodidakt
Medlem i konstnärsförening
Öppna Sinnen
Med i konstrunda
Konstrundan i Skåne
Utställningar
Luftkastellet, October 2022
Art in Lund, November 2022
Luftkastellet, March 2023
Engleson Gallery Caroli, April 2023
Hydra, Greece June 2023
Engleson Gallery Caroli, October 2023
Toppen, Höllviken December 2023
Luftkastellet, March 2024
Torup Gallery, March 2024
Venice, May 2024