Carolina Gynning. From it-girl, Big Brother-winner and glamour model to respected artist and TV-presenter. She surely knew how to use her ’15-minutes-of-fame’ right.
2004 was the year I moved from Sweden and the same year Carolina Gynning was on Swedish Big Brother with her platinum blonde hair and fake boobs. Six years later I move back. I turn on the television and the only thing I recognise is her voice but I wouldn’t have known it was her if it wasn’t for the caption.
Gone was the long blonde locks and the silicon implants. And she was skinnier too.
On Friday, I was in central Stockholm with a dear friend, who also happens to be a Carolina fan who instantly recognised her work. For me it was, ‘oh, so this it-girl is painting now, don’t these celebrities try to do everything’.
But there was something interesting about those paintings, very colourful and they looked like self-portraits expressing different emotions. Even I could understand that.
Walking around the exhibition I got a good update and background information about Carolina so my attitude changed. I was a bit more positive toward this celebrity’s credibility.
As we were getting to the end my friend told me Carolina was sitting there. No, I didn’t recognise her. Next to her was her mother, also a famous artist, whose sculpture were displayed at the exhibition.
We walked around again so I could have another look at her. There was especially one painting that we paid extra attention to. One of a naked women with her legs spread out and a pig’s head covering her crotch. Carolina was happy to stand up and talk to us about her inspiration. Swine flu.
She was also having a hard time with men, male pigs, and as it was at the same time the swine flu broke hence the pig’s head.
She talked to us for about ten minutes, walking from one painting to another. I was very impressed and I could get through with my misconceptions of the bimbo image that had stuck to my mind. People change. I guess celebrities do too.
A little bit of this and that... 