Images from the Past

The starting point for the exhibition "Images from the Past" is the production of the film Bronze Age. Through film and photography, it shows how rock carvings were interpreted more than 70 years ago. This perspective reveals a forgotten history of how these carvings were understood and communicated in the past. Rock carvings are truly images from the past that continue to fascinate and intrigue—now and most likely well into the future.

The 1954 Film Shoot

In the summer of 1954, a group of young cultural workers and film enthusiasts from Gothenburg traveled to northern Bohuslän to film the Tanum rock carvings at night. The group, led by journalist Lars Krantz, included photographers Andrej Gavrjusjov and Lars Jevbratt. They knew each other through the Gothenburg Students’ Film Studio. The result was the 12-minute short film Bronze Age, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 and was named Sweden’s best short film of the year by the magazine Folket i bild.

The Exhibition “Bronze Age Image”

During the filming, still photographs of the carvings were also taken. These were exhibited at the Göteborgs konstmuseum (Gothenburg Museum of Art) in December 1954 under the title Bronze Age Image. The photographs were later shown at the Historiska museet in Stockholm (museum of history), Malmö Museum, and several museums in Germany.

Film and Photography: A Forgotten Story

Although the film Bronze Age attracted attention at the time, it left few traces in Swedish film history and until recently was not available in digital form. This exhibition brings to light these forgotten cinematic and photographic representations of the Bohuslän rock carvings.

Digitization and Restoration

The film has been digitized and restored by the Swedish Film Institute, and the still photographs from the 1954 exhibition have been digitized from the original negatives for presentation here. Experience the film Bronze Age and the still images from the shoot—right in the area where they were created 70 years ago.

Exhibition Facts

Produced by Vitlycke Museum, part of the Cultural Administration of Region Västra Götaland.
Exhibition Producer: Emma Backelin

Acknowledgements

We extend our warm thanks to Mischa Gavrusjov for generously making the photographic material available for this exhibition. Special thanks also to Erik Florin Persson, whose thorough research and well-crafted texts have given the exhibition its depth and context.