In Sweden we don’t notice the pine, it simply just exists next to us. Sweden is covered in forest and has for a long time been defined by forestry. Today, the international lumber trade makes a big part of the Swedish basic industry. The lumber trade with Egypt has been ongoing for many decades. Pine trees from the Nordic hinterland are transformed into a commodity and are sent out on a trip to the port of Alexandria. When the commodity arrives to Egyptian land it is no longer only a commodity – it is now an exclusive commodity! In Egypt pine is, among other things, used for housing construction, furniture and wooden frames for canvases. The relation with a material is changing depending on where the material is.

Härnösand, Sweden to Alexandria, Egypt.