Malou Palmqvist

On Asperö, nature is not something visited on weekends. It is woven into everyday routines. The tide, the wind, the changing light, and the seasons shape the experience of living there. The island demands a different awareness of time, one that values presence over urgency.

That same awareness can be felt in Malou's sculptures. Working primarily in ceramics, she creates pieces that appear both fragile and grounded, balanced between tension and stability. The themes she explores in her work feel inseparable from the environment around her. Living on an island means constantly witnessing nature's delicate contrasts – the meeting of land and sea, exposure and shelter, stillness and movement. In many ways, her sculptures mirror those same relationships.

Ceramics itself is a medium that rewards patience. It cannot be rushed. Every stage of the process demands attention, from shaping the clay by hand to waiting for it to dry, bring the pieces to her next-door neighbour to fire and transform. The material carries its own unpredictability, requiring both control and acceptance.

"Working with ceramics is like being in a meditative state." says Malou.

The repetitive gestures of making, the tactile connection to the material, and the focus required to guide a form into existence create a space for reflection. It is a way of thinking that happens through the hands as much as through the mind.

"It’s so incredibly fundamental, I think, for people to work with their hands, and think a different kind of thought."

In an age where much of life takes place through screens and abstractions, her words feel particularly resonant. Whether walking through the forest paths of Asperö, crossing the water by ferry, or shaping clay in her studio, there is a common thread running through her life and work: a commitment to physical presence.

Perhaps that is what makes Asperö the ideal setting for her practice. The island encourages the same qualities that her sculptures embody: patience, attentiveness, and balance.

For Malou Palmqvist, the journey away from the city was never simply about changing location. It was about creating the conditions for another way of living. One that remains closely connected to nature, to material, and to the quiet satisfaction of making something with your own hands.

The Passionate is a series of conversations with people who have devoted themselves to a craft, a curiosity, or a way of seeing the world.

Rather than looking inward, we turn our attention outwards, towards creative individuals whose passions shape the way they live, work, and think.

Through stories of process, place, and purpose, we explore what drives people to pursue the things they care about most.