Fragments from the depths of the past, such as memories from childhood, archival material or traces in nature are rediscovered and retold. Colbengtson works mainly with screen printing and glass as a medium and uses portraits and landscapes from old photographs in addition to text in Swedish and Southern Sámi as a starting point for processing – not just an artistic sense, but also therapeutic – and for conveying stories. He retrieves the photographs from both private collections and public archives that are related, among else, to racial biology research.
Colbengtson is known for his glass sculptures made with the cased glass technique where images are transferred using screen printing and are encapsulated in the glass. In addition, he exhibits a series of two-dimensional works where painting and photographs processed through rasterization are layered on both flat and bent glass- and metal sheets. The exhibition also shows several installations where light, shadow and mirroring tell stories of invisibility and alienation that constantly affects the individual, society and the culture.
