This is a public commission for Telge-fastigheter and their sports arena in Södertälje Sweden.

The artwork in the arena, called GF-Hallen, is a text in pink LED-light based on a quote from one of the children who practice gymnastics in the hall. I wanted the voices that belongs in the arena to dictate the art. I interviewed about 20 children and youth that practice in Södertälje's Gymnastics and Sports Association (SGSF). I wanted to understand their attitude towards training, each other and to the sport. After the interviews, it was clear that 7-year-old Neiyla's answer shone the brightest. She said: Om det är högt blir magen rädd men jag försöker ändå (If it's high, my stomach gets scared, but I try anyway.) She explained in a clear and poetic way what courage is and how important it is to be aware of your fears in order to not push yourself to heights you cannot handle. Neiyla doesn't say she's up to the challenge, she says she'll try. She opens up to vulnerability and understands her fear, instead of denying it. Something that I believe is crucial in all development, play and possible success. That attitude resonates well with SGSF's motto: safety, joy, trust and opportunity for development, but also with the entire National Sports Confederation, which wants to focus on the child's own needs and development. On their website you can read "The activity must be based on the child's own expressed interests and needs, where play, joy and the desire to move are put first".

Neiyla's own handwriting is the basis for how the letters are designed. A child's letters take up space and spread out. They are free and do not allow themselves to be limited by either margins, lines or substrates. I wanted it to look like a child has climbed to the top of the ladder, with a big glowing pen, and told her story in the middle of the wall. I wanted her words to shine without excuses.