Contrast & Concrete Clocks

So yesterday I took myself off to Foyles with the intention of picking up some Swedish phrase-books and a Gothenburg guide. Armed with a national book token I was pretty sure I'd be spoilt for choice at Foyles and if not could always try Blackwells just across the street. The Travel section is a pretty decent size but when it comes to Sweden honestly it was all a bit disappointing. A handful of the rough guide to Sweden and one measly Gothenburg 'city picks' smaller than A5!
Okay so I admit I was maybe hoping for one of the Phaidon Wallpaper City guides, but of course they have one for Stockholm but no Gothenburg!






Either that or one of those NFT (not for tourists) guides. The London one is really good but the only one I could find was for New York.
So after getting over my disappointment I figured I could probably order one and still have it in time for my trip. But apparently not! According to the sales assistant, apart from the tiny one I found there are no other Gothenburg specific travel guides in print. So I haven't decided if I believe her yet, or had time to check amazon for that matter but surely someone has written a well thought out city guide for Gothenburg..... right? I'm pretty sure I remember reading it's the third largest city in Sweden!

I don't know if you can imagine my dissapointment ha! but then in total contrast something really exciting happened today! I was doing my usual scan of my google reader and something caught my eye- these amazing concrete clocks by Swedish Designer Johan Forsber




I was so excited I immediately did a little research and it turns out that Johan is based in Gothenburg. His studio Forsberg form creates intriguing objects from concrete. More exciting than that though is the fact he uses special formulas and sea sand from the Öresunds seabed; the straight that separates Denmark & Sweden.


It reminded me a little of Glaswegian Artist Katie Paterson and her incredible ice records. The records were made using recordings from three Glaciers in Iceland, and formed from collected melted water from each glacier. I keep coming back to this project, and have lost count of how many times I've made reference to it, but honestly I STILL think its amazing.





So no Gothenburg specific travel guide as yet, but definite proof that there is going to be a lot of exciting things to explore! I'm starting with Forsberg Form and who knows maybe Johan needs an intern!