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Inside the Heart of a Mother and What it Means to Care| Emma Rytoft
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Emma Rytoft, a talented Swedish artist based in Berlin, creates vibrant murals and paintings that celebrate the power of women, the beauty of motherhood, and our deep connection to nature. In this interview, Emma reflects on how motherhood reshaped her creative process, how her architectural background influenced her large-scale murals, and her efforts to challenge societal norms by bringing themes of maternal strength into public spaces. She shares the joys and challenges of creating vibrant, dreamlike works that merge surrealism with pop art. She offers powerful messages about women’s societal roles and humanity’s connection to the natural world.
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I am a Swedish artist based in Berlin since 2012. I explore women’s resilience and transformative power through murals and canvas paintings, celebrating motherhood, the female body, and our deep connection to nature. My art brings these themes into public spaces, inviting reflection on life’s origins and honoring the essential role of care in society.
My works are dreamlike, alternate realities where human figures, often with their heads replaced by clouds, plants, or animal faces, exist in vibrantly enigmatic settings. Drawing inspiration from philosophy, physics, and biology, I paint details from my daily life; long afternoons at the playground with my daughter, chopping vegetables for dinner, and fleeting moments of tranquility in a warm bubble bath.
1. Your vibrant murals and paintings merge surrealism with pop art to explore profound themes. What drives your choice to juxtapose everyday life with dreamlike alternate realities?
I believe that magic exists daily—if we pause long enough to feel or look closely enough to see it. My choice to juxtapose everyday life with dreamlike elements comes from my fascination with the fluidity of reality. There is no single, correct way to perceive the world; every experience is personal and subjective. To me, the power of art lies in making different ways of seeing visible, broadening perspectives, and inviting new reflections. Much of my work begins with an idea or moment that captures my curiosity—something I see or experience that feels vivid and alive.
These ideas push their way into the world as paintings. My surreal compositions, where humans blend with plants, animals, or clouds, feel as real to me as anything else. They reflect the deep interconnectedness between people, nature, and the spaces we inhabit. I hope to inspire joy, wonder, and connection by merging the familiar with the fantastical. My art celebrates the threads that tie all life together—the blurring lines between our dreams and daily lives, between humans, animals, and the natural world that sustains us.
My paintings tell stories of longed-for connections between individuals and their surroundings.
Emma Rytoft
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2. The birth of your daughter has inspired your art. How has motherhood reshaped your creative process and the themes you explore?
Becoming a mother has deepened my appreciation for nature’s power and brought me closer to feelings of awe and wonder. From the moment I discovered I was pregnant with my first daughter four years ago, I’ve felt an ever-growing marvel at life and a profound respect for women. Motherhood has reshaped my creative process by making it feel more personal and necessary. My work now serves as a visual diary and a way to share the often-overlooked beauty and power of maternal experiences with a broader audience. Images of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and women caring for young children are still strikingly absent in our culture.
Women’s bodies are depicted mainly as objects seen through the male gaze rather than as makers of life and vessels of incredible strength. I believe it’s vital to offer a different narrative that inspires and empowers young girls and gives mothers the respect they deserve. My creative process remains spontaneous and rooted in personal experience, but since becoming a mother, it feels impossible not to focus on this powerful transformation. Life with my daughter continuously reminds me of what truly matters. I feel a responsibility to bring images into the world that celebrate love, care, and the strength of women—values that have gotten lost in contemporary society. Through colorful, honest paintings, I hope to spread wonder and inspire a tremendous respect for the essential nature of mothering.
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3. Your work often questions humanity’s role in the natural order. What message do you hope viewers take away from your use of symbolic elements like clouds, cacti, and animals?
I want my work to remind viewers that humans are not separate from nature—we are profoundly and inherently part of it. We live in a world where our sense of unity with the life around us has been diminished, if not entirely eroded, resulting in widespread environmental destruction. By replacing human heads with clouds, plants, or animals in my work, I aim to symbolize the deep connections between all living beings and move people to take more excellent care of the world we share.
Without the life that surrounds us—whether it’s trees, birds, or the tigers in the jungle—we are nothing. We depend on the air that fills our lungs, the water we can’t survive a day without, and the earth beneath our feet. My art invites me to pause, reflect, and feel renewed humility, gratitude, and responsibility toward our planet. I want viewers to remember that every choice we make affects the intricate web of life we’re part of—and that nurturing our relationship with nature is essential to our survival and well-being.
4. Transitioning from architecture to full-time art is a bold leap. How did your experiences as an architect shape your creative style and approach?
Yes! It took me over 10 years to fully transition from architecture to full-time art. For a long time, I balanced both careers, but after the birth of my daughter, I realized I couldn’t keep doing both. My heart has always been with painting, and that’s when I knew I had to commit fully to my art. My time as an architect has deeply influenced my creative approach, especially regarding composition, balance, and scale. Architecture taught me to think in three dimensions and to understand the relationship between space and form, lessons I’ve carried over into my work as an artist.
Architecture also exposed me to the colorless, grey world of urban spaces—concrete, steel, and glass everywhere you look. This lack of vibrancy sparked my desire to bring color and joy into public art. Creating murals and large-scale works allows me to transform everyday spaces into environments full of life and emotion—the ability to create art that people can walk through rather than simply view is deeply fulfilling. I love inviting others into my drawings’ world, offering them an immersive experience that feels like entering a new reality.
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The values tied to motherhood—love, care, and resilience—are at the heart of what sustains us as a society.
Emma Rytoft
5. Your murals are massive in scale and vibrantly detailed. What challenges and joys do you find in creating such significant public works?
I love bringing my work to the streets, taking it out of the gallery and into the real world, which can brighten the day of people doing their business. Art in public spaces can be incredibly impactful, transforming the feeling of a space and influencing people’s moods and opinions in ways you don’t get in a gallery setting. The physical challenge of creating large murals can be exhausting, but a vast adrenaline rush comes with it. The sense of success after finishing a big piece is massive. Scaling up this way makes the work feel much more like a lived experience—it becomes something architectural, more than just a 2D painting. It’s a whole different dynamic when the work surrounds you and becomes part of the space itself.
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6. You emphasize women’s resilience and the transformative experience of childbirth in your recent works. How do you see art contributing to a broader conversation about women’s societal roles?
Before giving birth to my daughter, I had no idea of my strength. The experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding for 15 months was a monumental journey. One that is not either visible or valued in contemporary Western society. Women are given neither the support nor the appreciation they deserve for this incredible feat. Even in the allegedly open-minded and inclusive art world, it remains one of the last taboos. The patriarchy continues to repress women, afraid of accepting the power of creating life, inherently female as that is, it prefers to portray women as objects intended to delight the male gaze.
I intend to challenge this by bringing images of pregnancy and motherhood into public spaces worldwide—traditionally male-dominated spaces like plazas, squares, and offices. I aim to break the silence around feminine strength and remind people of women’s fundamental role in bringing life into the world. The values tied to motherhood—love, care, and resilience—are at the heart of what sustains us as a society. If we could center these values in our culture, we might stand a better chance of creating a balanced, compassionate future. One in which not only humans but all life can thrive in harmony.
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Emma’s art is about more than colors and shapes—it’s a celebration of life, care, and the strength of women. Through her murals and paintings, she hopes to spark conversations about what really matters and inspire a deeper connection to ourselves, each other, and the natural world we’re part of. To learn more about Emma, click the following links to visit her profile.
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