"As a child I once dreamt that I opened the window and the sky was covered with maps. As if we were inside a terrestrial globe, lit up from the outside. I had this overwhelming sensation of beauty, which has followed me ever since. Maybe that's where my fascination with maps started."

Imaginary Maps are patterns created with inspiration from coastlines, topographic maps and other cartographic elements. The original patterns were printed on wallpaper lengths by Your Wallpaper, and displayed at the exhibition A Sense of Direction at Konsthantverkarna, Stockholm in 2012. 

Prints can be ordered as posters or wallpaper lengths, or customized for a specific room or project. Please contact me at sara@saraengberg.se if you are interested. 

A collection of tins and boxes made for an exhibition at gallery Konsthantverkarna in Stockholm, 2014. 

Postcard design for High Desert Test Sites, California, 2014

Learn more on the High Desert Test Sites website. 

Postcards available for purchase in the High Desert Test Sites Store.

A collection of neck pieces and brooches for the solo exhibition So Little Time at gallery Two Little Birds in Gothenburg 2013.

So Little Time. Inspired by sequin embroidered voodoo flags and created for the exhibition So Little Time at gallery Two Little Birds in Gothenburg 2013.

Necklaces created for the exhibition A Sense of Direction at Konsthantverkarna, Stockholm in 2012. 

Each piece is unique, and not based on any actual countries or coastlines. They are imaginary islands, hand cut from several layers of colored sheet acrylic collected from all over the world, some of them vintage plexiglass from the 1950's. The ribbons are made from silkscreen printed and painted silk or cotton fabric.

Grass letters

Created during a workshop with Ruudt Peters in Ravenstein, the Netherlands (2011)

I would have wanted my Mother to be a Grandmother

Silver jewelry and embroidered apron. Made for the exhibition Bilder av smycken by Makabra Bijouterier at the Zita cinema theatre, Stockholm, 2005. Photo: Jenny Widingsjö

Custom-made silver charm "Iris Bricken"

AMBER and what to do with it

A Russian-Swedish joint exhibition curated by Åsa Lockner and Anna Livén West at gallery Konsthantverkarna, Stockholm (2008).

Amber, an obsolete material or a material with great potential? See a new generation of amber works by Swedish and Russian artists.

”We give you amber, a material with an obvious identity problem.”

In November 2007, the project ”Kaliningrad Amber” was set off. 10 artists in Sweden and Kaliningrad were chosen and a workshop dealing with amber was organised in Svetlagorsk (on the Baltic coast near Kaliningrad). By letting the artists inspire each other with their different views, specific working methods and national identities, the aim was to create new, unique objects made of amber.

During six cold days, the artists had the chance to work freely with 4 kilos of raw amber, attempting to challenge the traditional aesthetics. Cultural clashes, linguistic confusion and the surreal fairytale surroundings of Svetlagorsk have finally resulted in the exhibition “AMBER and what to do with it” where the participating artists have been working with themes such as status, aesthetics, communication and symbolic values.

Amber Makeover – Sara Engberg
Mink boa with ribbons, frills, gold-plated silver and faceted amber

Amber is generally associated with craft and organic, natural shapes. Wearing amber jewellery signals a down-to-earth personality, appreciating natural beauty and authenticity rather than luxury and bling-bling. Unlike gold and diamonds, amber is affordable and democratic—it doesn't work as a status marker, because anyone can buy it and wear it.

My aim with this piece has been to perform an amber “makeover”, transforming the amber from a craft material to a luxury material by placing it in an extravagant context—cutting it in faceted, diamond-like shapes and combining it with mink fur and gold. It's an homage to the Russian Lady, who never compromises with style; who wouldn’t wear an outfit that's anything less than perfectly matched, and who doesn't hesitate to put on a sumptuous mink fur and high-heeled suede boots—even when visiting a muddy amber mine.