Closer look: When knowledge was passed down
On a rocky beach in the Stockholm archipelago, boat builders are bent over a half-finished hull. At the edge of the group, a boy – the next generation – learns by watching and helping.
For craft researcher and boat builder Fredrik Leijonhufvud, the image is more than just a motif – it is a testimony to how knowledge was once passed on, openly and collectively.
The photograph helps him to interpret an almost lost tradition: the Nordic clinker-built technique, where thin, overlapping boards form the hull. By examining the tool marks and the order of the planks, he can see working methods that give clues to the craft processes. The photograph captures a moment of lived knowledge – an encounter between people, materials and environment in which craft becomes both history and research method.
Text: Erika Hoff