Last Walk of Olof Palme (2011)
Last Walk of Olof Palme was a commemorative artistic experience created to mark the 25th anniversary of the assassination
of one of the leading political figures in the history of Sweden and Europe. The public was invited to take a part
in a soundwalk which followed the exact path that Olof Palme and Elsiabet, his wife, took after leaving the cinema at Sveavägen
25 years ago. During the 4 minute and 30 second walk, they listened to a sonic composition,
which was a vocal interpretation of the GPS data extracted from his last walk. Its dramatic soundscape ended at the very place of the murder.
Last Walk of Olof Palme was a response to the anticipated discontinuation of the investigation into the Palme's murder. According to the Swedish statute of limitation at the time,
an unresolved case could be closed after 25 years. (However, in 2010 Sweden removed the statute of limitations on murders,
specifically so that the search for Palme's killer could go on for as long as it needed). The project tested the potential of sound and sounwalking to constitute
a symbolic zone for an individual act of remembrance in the context of public space and event that took place there.
The event took place on Monday, February 28, between noon and 23:21 pm (at 16 minutes past every hour, starting at 12:16) Sveavägen 45 (between the Grand Cinema and the entrance to the t-station Hötorget) Soundwalk, Stockholm, February 2011
Project director: Jacek Smolicki,
Programming: Brett Ascarelli,
Vocals: Therese Karlsson
An audio essay reflecting on the project was produced in Stockholm in 2012
Script, concept and production:
Jacek Smolicki,
Narrating voice: Schiaffino Musarra