Bildmuseet: Swedish Picture Book of the Year / Everybody Eats Everybody

On 15 March, an exhibition opens with Aron Landahl’s original paintings for Alla äter alla [Everybody Eats Everybody], selected as the year’s best Swedish picture book. The opening will take place during Bildmuseet’s Art Friday with Littfest – Umeå International Literature Festival.

Press preview of the exhibition is available by appointment from Wednesday 13 March, as well as interview opportunities with Aron Landahl and Brita Täljedal, museum curator and jury member. Please email your request. At the opening on 15 March at 5:00 pm, the artist will present his exhibition in conversation with Brita Täljedal.

A blood-filled mosquito is swallowed by a dragonfly, which is eaten by a toad, which is eaten by a snake, which is swallowed by a gull, which is taken by a seal... Alla äter alla [Everybody Eats Everybody] has been named the best Swedish picture book of 2023 and honoured with the national award Snöbollen [The Snowball] at Littfest 2024. Bildmuseet’s exhibition presents all original paintings for the award-winning book, and visitors can listen to Aron Landahl talking about how it came about.

The picture book Alla äter alla tells a story of beautiful and violent, hungry animals eating one another in a circular narrative depicting the food chain. The simultaneously realistic and fabulously imaginative images convey the drama of the animals’ struggle. Aron Landahl’s detailed paintings, executed in acrylic on paper, have their own style where one can find references to old scientific illustrations and other artists. The jury states: Each striking spread offers a myriad of details, inviting the reader to observe the fauna and the flora. Threads intertwine with medieval bestiaries, vintage posters, and artists such as Maria Sibylla Merian, Henri Rousseau and Hans Arnold. This picture book, situated at the intersection of fact, fiction and fantasy, is not only hauntingly beautiful but also cruel.

Aron Landahl (b. 1984, Visby) resides in Uppsala. He is an illustrator, musician, writer, and nurse. Landahl debuted as a picture book creator with the cosy thriller Dropp dropp (2019) and has subsequently illustrated several books featuring texts by Barbro Lindgren. In 2023, his second picture book, Alla äter alla, was released, which has since been nominated for the August Prize 2023 and is now awarded the Snöbollen prize. Landahl will be receiving the award at Littfest on Friday, 15 March.

The exhibition Swedish Picture Book of the Year / Alla äter alla is produced by Bildmuseet. It includes learning programmes and activities for visitors of all ages. Swedish Picture Book of the Year is a recurring exhibition presented at Bildmuseet for the thirteenth year in 2024.

Exhibition opening Art Friday, 15 March at 5:00 pm

The exhibition will be inaugurated as part of the programme during Art Friday with Littfest on March 15, which runs from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am. At 5 pm, Aron Landahl will present his exhibition in dialogue with museum curator Brita Täljedal. Two additional exhibitions will open during the evening: Elias Crespin / Chronomorphosis ( press release) and Eight Degrees / Contemporary Art about the Forest ( press release).

Press requests and images

For a press preview or requests, please email press.bildmuseet@umu.se or call press officer Helena Vejbrink at +46(0)90 7869073. To download press images, visit www.bildmuseet.umu.se/en/pressimages