In the Big Bang series of the late 1990s, Rahmberg takes as his inspiration the creation myth according to Genesis in the Old Testament. As Clemens Altgård wrote of the exhibition which featured the Big Bang material, ‘Rahmberg takes as his inspiration the creation myth according to Genesis in the Old Testament. It is a motif that also attracted Robert Crumb (which you can see here), though if you compare Rahmberg’s way of approaching the biblical myth world with Crumb’s, you soon discover that there are big differences. Crumb follows the original text and does not satirise the motifs, at least not in any obvious way. Ulf Rahmberg’s Big Bang is definitely more disrespectful. Rahmberg, “the political preacher”, has in an anarchist and decidedly erotic way embarked on a myth that allows his outlook on life to be fully expressed. The motif of Cain killing Abel sets the tone for what is to come in the history of humanity – no wonder the snake seems satisfied. Ulf Rahmberg’s visions have both a virtuoso character and a universal validity.’

As you will see from the Big Bang paintings, Ulf Rahmberg regularly reworks his images unlimited by the edges of the original paper; he is quite happy to tape an extension patch as needed. We have also included several of the preliminary sketches for Big Bang.