Help us build a house for Patrick to come home to, a house that is not just our home but a center for A R T I S T S in R E S O N A N C E, a place for Patrick to flourish in the future, post-encephalitis.

Patrick became critically ill with TBE (tick-borne encephalitis), despite vaccination, in mid September 2025. After 3 weeks in ICU and Neurological ICU, with life hanging by a thread, he is now on the long long road to recovery while living in a rehabilitation center for patients on breathing support. TBE has seriously affected Patrick's autonomous nervous system, so this winter's project is to re-train his independent breathing, to be free of the tracheostomy and respirator.

Parallel to this, Patrick has daily physiotherapy to recover from paralysis and to eventually learn to walk and to use his hands and arms again, which could take months or years. The greatest news of the past few weeks is that he has recovered his voice and language. Making the journey from his first whispered word four weeks ago, to recovering fluency in four languages and getting his vocal chords vibrating again in the past week. This gives great hope. His wild spirit is alive and kicking, determined to get through this.

This man who has delighted us, made us laugh, woven fantasy through the banal, fed us crêpe and galette, shared his ever sparking philosophies of ‘confusianism’, awakening small wonders where they were least expected. This man who has whistled conversations with birds, solves seemingly impossible art technical problems, lightens the room with his presence and strikes up conversations with anyone, anywhere. Patrick is a person with so much play and vitality that his joy is infectious.

There are no guarantees in recovery - from TBE that is, the joy shall remain viral. No doctor can predict the future, in part because TBE is largely underresearched and also because every case is so very different. Some people fully recover, while others experience sequelae ranging from a slight limp or brain fog, to life-long disabilities with a need for assisted living. As his partner and carer, by his side everyday, my challenge is now two fold; to support Patrick's spirit and sense of hope through the recovery process, and to sort out a livable living situation for when he is ready to come home.

For the past two years we have been living off-grid in a yurt, treehouse and barrack while beginning the building process. Our current living situation may well be impossible for Patrick to return to, as he will likely need support and adapted living, at least in the beginning. To have to move away from the forest would be a tragedy for us. So I am calling all my courage, while swimming in the absolute unknown, to ask for your support. To dare to dream that together this house building vision can indeed become a reality.

As his partner and artistic collaborator of 17 years, I hold the vision of Patrick recovering to full health and of us continuing to live our dreams. Continuing to build and create a center for A R T I S T S in R E S O N A N C E in the forest outside Järna, a place to share our haptic sound tree instruments, to host artists, researchers and projects engaging in deepening relations with people, plants in place. A place for somatic, sonic, ecological and relational art to grow and to nourish.

Keeping the dream alive, for Patrick and for us both, means keeping our building in process. This now involves paying local builders to do the work we would otherwise have done with our own hands. Alongside that is the challenge of having a total loss of income, as I’ve had to cancel all our projects. As artists with sporadic incomes, bank loans are simply not an option, we don't qualify. How then can we keep these dreams alive for Patrick and for our future?

This fund is to complete the ground work of the house; for builders to make the foundations, ground floor structure and to install the biological water filtration system. We designed the house two years ago in collaboration with architect Jakop Lindergård and have all our building permits. Based on a barn, the design is simple; a large studio with high ceilings for collaborations and art events, an open plan kitchen plan for communal dinners, a couple of small bedrooms, a bathroom and loft meditation space, all off-grid.

So far we have done the groundwork with tractors, installed the pipes underground, had the bore water well drilled and made home in the forest with as little disturbance to the surroundings as possible. After completing the groundwork, the next step is to install a modular straw-insulated wall system made by Ecococon. The house will be clad in timber with a metal roof and solar panels for minimal energy needs. How we fund these next steps will be a question for the future, we take one step at a time.

If this time of extreme precarity has taught us anything, it is to take one step at a time, to hold our friends and family close, bonded through need. Every little bit of care and support is important in keeping spirits afloat and propelling Patrick in his healing process. We hope, with your help, to take a step towards our dreams and towards a livable future of art and listening, with the forest as our home. Our heartfelt thanks for every contribution, however small or large, in helping build a house for Patrick to come home to. May his return to health and vitality be reflected in the construction and creation of our home and arts center. We look forward to sharing this place with you in the spirit of resonance.

with love

Julia

Read more about our journey with Patrick's illness here and

A R T I S T S in R E S O N A N C E here on centerforresonance.substack.

You can also find our rather outdated websites for SymbioLab here and Julia Adzuki here.