Parents of Swedish hoodies face a terrible punishment - from the State Fire Department. By Rosie Mlilard
I'm not sure what Tony Blair and his Respect campaign would make of this idea, but certainly it is somewhat more baroquely creative than banning hoodies from shopping malls. In rural parts of Sweden various municipalities, or kommuns, still keep an ancient by-law that is possibly the most perfect incentive for parents to keep their children under control. If you are under 18 and found guilty of a serious offence such as rape, armed robbery, or murder, you will not be sent to a correctional institution. Or fined. Something much worse will be done to your family. The state firemen will show up and ceremoniously burn your parents' house down. To the ground. Rural Swedes think it is really rather normal.
Now, however, the immolation of one young offender's home has been captured on film by a British artist, and the Swedish school of hard knocks is secret no longer.
"Yep, I filmed the whole lot," says Sean Rogg, a British artist who lives in Stockholm. He came across this authorised arson when researching a film involving a thousand bottles of sparkling water. "I was searching for a spa deep in the Swedish countryside. Over dinner, my host was discussing a burning due to happen in a week's time. Of course I thought it was utterly shocking, and extended my stay."
The resultant film will be screened for a month, starting this Saturday, at the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station in east London. "It was a small, detached house in the countryside," says Rogg, "and the state firemen were so brutal. They even played baseball with the remains of the timbers when it was finished." Apparently, most houses in Sweden are made of wood, which is perhaps why this particular punishment took off. And the firemen had a few tricks up their sleeves during the four-and-a-half-hour event. "At one point, about halfway through, the firemen appeared carrying buckets. I breathed a sigh of relief, as I thought it might be water. But in fact it turned out to be petrol." Bastards.
Thinking about it, though, the black comedy of the event would have been even worse if it was water. Imagine clearing out your house in preparation for it to be burned (this is allowed) and having half of it gutted, only for a bunch of firemen to douse it with water and shout: "Only joking!"
Was the repentant criminal there? He or she was not, says Rogg, who can identify neither the location nor the criminal's offence, nor any other details. "But the dad and an elder brother were in the crowd, moping." I bet. Indeed, according to Rogg, this awesomely savage penalty does the trick; a burning happens only about once in a generation, or every 15 years. Then, presumably, all the potential miscreants in the area get the message.
It doesn't sound as if the crowd that watched this burning was particularly full of Puritanical zeal, though. "Oh, no, there were children toasting marshmallows in the embers of the house," says Rogg. So, not only do you lose your major asset in life, but you experience the indignity of small Swedish urchins toasting treats in its dying sparks. "I guess it's a deterrent. But that's not what my film is about. My film is really about the beauty of fire." Well, that's all right, then.
Into the Wood is showing at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, London E1, from 21 January to 26 February. For further details call: 020 7680 2080
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