The exhibition explores how light, food, and microbes can support the body during this time, translating scientific insights into experimental interventions and offering inspiration during the darkest months of the year.
All living organisms, from fungi and bacteria to humans, live by internal biological clocks shaped directly or indirectly by light. For humans, this inner rhythm guides key processes in the body. Sleep and wakefulness are regulated by melatonin, which responds to daylight through signals from the eyes. Our mood is supported by serotonin, most of which is produced in the gut with help from our microbiota. And vitamin D, made in the skin or absorbed through foods exposed to UVB light, plays an essential role in supporting both mood and the body’s circadian rhythm. When sunlight decreases during winter, these systems become disrupted: circadian rhythms shift, vitamin D levels drop, and symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the so-called “winter depression”, can be triggered.
With support from Göteborgs Stad, Saxtorp Svamp and Norrland Kombucha.
Maria Pita Guerreiro
Maria Pita Guerreiro is a Portuguese experimental designer and artist based in Stockholm. Her work sits at the intersection of design, art, craft, science, and health, drawing inspiration from natural systems, rituals, the human body, and eco-feminism. She works with material research, alternative therapies, and self-sustaining practices, exploring living materials such as fungi and bacteria.
Her interest in Seasonal Affective Disorder is personal. After moving North, she experienced how reduced sunlight affects the body and triggers SAD. She has since worked with winter depression, fungi, and fermentation in collaboration with scientists, researchers, and local producers. These strands now converge in the solo exhibition WINTER BLUES.
Winter Blues, reflects on these hidden dialogues, and explores how light, food, and microbes can support the body during seasonal darkness, translating scientific insights into experimental interventions. The result is a laboratory of coping strategies, from light therapy used to mimic daylight, to fermentation supporting gut and mind, to fungi charged with vitamin D. The exhibition aims to offer inspiration and empowerment during the darkest months of the year.
Free admission.
