At the Nobel Prize award ceremony on 10 December, every laureate receives a gold medal as well as a Nobel Prize diploma. Every diploma is a personalised and unique piece of art that is handmade for a specific laureate. We visited artist Elisabeth Biström, who is responsible for creating the artwork in the chemistry, physics and economic sciences diplomas for the prizes, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Elisabeth, how did you become an artist?
I sort of knew from start that I wanted to be an artist but it took me a long while to actually gain the courage to jump into it. I had several other jobs until I was 35 years old. Then I said, “let’s have a go with this.” I’ve been a full-time artist for five years. I didn’t go to art school, I studied to become an art teacher because I felt that I needed a real job but I always wanted to be an artist.
How did you get the job of making art for the Nobel Prize diplomas?
I don’t really know, they just contacted me and asked! I asked them how they heard about me and they said they read my newsletter so I guess they always look for new artists for the diplomas. It’s a three-year assignment and then they find a new artist, so I guess they’re always looking out for artists and somehow they found me. The first year you do chemistry, then you do physics and the last year you do the prize in economic sciences.
How did it feel to get asked to do the art in the diplomas?
My first thought when I accepted this assignment was, okay now I have to start painting something entirely different than I usually do, I have to level up. But then I realised I’m just going to paint what I paint and hopefully that’s going to be good enough. It’s a very special feeling to see the King of Sweden hand over your work to someone that’s been working for a lifetime on something really important. I feel a certain eagerness.
A selection of diplomas where Elisabeth's art is featured
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1 (of 4)
Artist: Elisabeth Biström Calligrapher: Marie Györi Book binder: Leonard Gustafssons Bokbinderi AB Photo reproduction: Dan Lepp © The Nobel Foundation 2023
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2 (of 4)
Artist: Elisabeth Biström Calligrapher: Marianne Pettersson Soold Book binder: Leonard Gustafssons Bokbinderi AB Photo reproduction: Lovisa Engblom © The Nobel Foundation 2022
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3 (of 4)
Artist: Elisabeth Biström Calligrapher: Marie Györi Book binder: Leonard Gustafssons Bokbinderi AB Photo reproduction: Dan Lepp © The Nobel Foundation 2023
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4 (of 4)
Artist: Elisabeth Biström Calligrapher: Marianne Pettersson Soold Book binder: Leonard Gustafssons Bokbinderi AB Photo reproduction: Lovisa Engblom © The Nobel Foundation 2022
Tell us about your work process.
I wait eagerly for the announcement which is in October. I have a lot of freedom. I can choose my topic, I can paint whatever I want to but I want to make a connection to what the prize is about so I wait for the announcement and then I try to come up with an idea about what to paint. I know the colour of the diploma – for chemistry it is always red, physics is always a blue cover and the prize in economic science is brown – so I know the colour scheme. Then I try to generate an idea that connects the artwork to what the prize is about, and then I go into my studio. I work for about three weeks, that’s the amount of time I have to paint the artwork for the diploma.
My work involves getting ideas about what to paint. I think it’s a very intuitive form of thinking, it’s very hard to try to force an idea. You just have to open the gates and let all ideas come out and I write everything down. I just let all ideas come out and then it sort of takes shape slowly, organically and intuitively.
Do you prepare before the announcement in some way?
I just try to get my sleep and be prepared. I think that’s the most important thing when painting, or for all sort of creative work, just arranging circumstances so that when you actually get to work you’re in a good head space for it. I try to exercise, sleep as well as I can and eat healthily. I prepare like an athlete I guess.
Do you make any mistakes when painting?
I’m very used to making mistakes. I think making mistakes is really important as an artist or in all sorts of creative endeavours. If you get scared of making mistakes you have to really limit yourself to the things that you are 100% sure that you can pull off, and that often becomes pretty boring. It shows up in the results so you have to be open to making mistakes and it’s a part of the process.
What kind of paint do you use?
I do watercolour painting and it has this special feature to it that you choose colours of course but you also choose pigments that can react in different ways on the paper. When you have water pigments and paper you can have pigments that spread easily. That makes a soft and clean surface and you can have pigments that react very easily to disturbance. It’s a very complex medium so I choose colours, both for the actual colour and also for what type of surface to create when they dry. You sort of let the painting paint itself with watercolour. It has its own will.
What do you hope to say with your art in the diplomas?
I want them to feel celebrated. That’s why I try to connect my work to their work and I get to write a little letter to them explaining the connection. I want to say thank you for your work. The whole Nobel Week is about celebrating their contributions so hopefully I’m a little part of that puzzle.
Do you see any similarities between the scientific achievements made by the laureates and your art?
I think there’s something deeply meaningful about being a human being, curious and wanting to figure out: why are we here? How did life happen? My curiosity is about looking at things and trying to see what’s out there and they investigate these matters in another way. However I think it might be the same curiosity that drives us.