As the forests disappear, they take up an ever greater place in the art

- Our self-image is that Sweden is a forest country but the wild forests are disappearing few. It is almost as if we have lost the ability to see that forest cultivation is not real forest, says documentary filmmaker Thomas Jackson.

Now that the forest and nature are threatened, it also takes up an ever greater place in the art. In Thomas Jackson's cultural documentary The Inner Forest, artists such as Lars Lerin and Britta Marakatt-Labba immerse themselves in what happens to our interior as the forests disappear.

Artist Sara-Vide Ericson is also interested in the forest, and sees a gap between reality and romantic fantasy. She is currently painting ants herself.

- It becomes ridiculous to think of the forest as a Bauer forest when there is as much agriculture as a regular field. It can provoke me immensely, which is why I find the ant interesting. The forest companies think it is very good ... the marsh is a burden to society because it cannot be used as a resource, she says.

Perhaps climate change is also throwing a new, more political light on landscape painting, which is not always as high a course in contemporary art.

The Västerås Art Museum and Bonnier's Art Hall in Stockholm are presently showing an exhibition on how contemporary views of forest and nature are reflected in the landscape painting. Contemporary works by, among others, Sara-Vide Ericson interact with paintings that extend to the growth of industrial society in the 19th century.

- In times like these, these exhibitions become important symbol bearers, either for something you want to protect or something that is threatened. There is an underlying promise of violence in many of the works that can be seen superficially as beautiful paintings alone, says Sara-Vide Ericson.

See parts of the exhibitions in the clip above.

The trees are bright green: Landscape painting then and now is displayed at Bonnier's Art Hall 22 Jan - 29 March. Performances of nature are displayed at the Västerås Art Museum throughout the year. The inner forest is on SVT Play.