This major monographic publication is the first in-depth study of the oeuvre of Swedish artist Ann Böttcher. Her practice looks at folklore, Nazi ideology, ethnology, sanatoriums, and forest dieback, reproduced through drawings and craft in a remarkable study of nature and historical forms of reflection.

At the center of Böttcher’s imagery we find the spruce. Through exquisite craftsmanship, and with reference to romantic nationalism, the artist explores how aesthetic and political projections characterize notions of nature, and how such conceptions are taken up by countries, political movements, and other institutions. This richly illustrated volume reflects, among other themes, the role the spruce has served as a symbol for the formation of Nordic territorial claims and national identities. Published on the occasion of the artist’s mid-career survey exhibition at Bonniers Konsthall in Stockholm.