Editorial: Hello again, and again Hello again. So we are back. It feels as if I have been writing the same editorial for eternity now. But here it is, having shapeshifted through its various forms and themes. For the whole Supermarket team it has been an exhausting two years. To plan a large international art fair in the middle of this insecure time vacuum is, let’s admit it, quite insane. What was initially meant to be Supermarket 2020 was rescheduled, then cancelled, reformatted as Superlocal 2020, and now it takes form as Supermarket 2021, finally showing all those exhibitors we selected already back in 2019. This only marks the fact that going forward often means taking quite a few steps backwards, or shifting sideways, or changing one’s plans completely. The past months made us somewhat introspective about our values and visions – what do we want the future Supermarkets to be like? What does it mean to ‘grow’ as an art fair? How can we become better and further strengthen the independent art scene? What have we gained and lost on the way to our present shape? As this year’s theme, we decided to go with ‘Shapeshifters’, perhaps reflecting our desire to move forward while looking back. We have a good starting point for change with our brand new venue, Stadsgårdsterminalen, the former cruise ship terminal, in the middle of the city with a picturesque view of Stockholm’s waterfront. This year marks the 15th international edition of Supermarket – Stockholm Independent Art Fair and over the time we have metamorphosed, grown and shrunk, transitioned and moved around. Continuous change, flexibility and development are key characteristics of the artist-run scene – shaped by its variety, focus on cooperation, international character, underground nature, and simulta6
neously the lack of strong visibility, precarious economic structures, gaps in sharing of experience and tiredness with the bureaucratic system. Shapeshifting is so alluring to us as it represents the possibility for a change for the better. It promises hope for a future contained in personal transformation, gives us power over our own destinies in times when we feel powerless; allows us to jump between dreams and realities. Shapeshifting is at the same time frightening as it serves as a reminder of judgment and justice, a righteous punishment to the wrongdoers, the fragility of existence easily tampered with by forces unknown to us. Acquiring a new shape was a common tactic of the Greek deities to implement their plans and passions – think of the ingenuity of Zeus transforming into golden rain to captivate Danae, into a bull to abduct Europa or a swan to reach Leda. The idea of shapeshifting has been thrilling people throughout centuries in mythology, folk tales, literature, popular culture and religion. Shapeshifters can change their physical form, shifting between the human and inhuman, between one consciousness and another, through skills granted by magic – good or evil, superpowers or divine order. This duality of shapeshifting – voluntary or imposed, one a symbol of freedom, the other of confinement – is a mirror of real life transformations. Not every change is good or welcome. Changes feel better if we can actively take part in them. Life feels better if we believe ourselves to be powerful enough to shape our own destinies. Waking up to a bizarre reality preserves meaning only if we do not feel like a useless insect trapped in a scaled body in a small room.
