ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: Clara is an artist engaged with transforming and recontextualizing the shape and form of objects. Clara’s work has been exhibited in the USA, France, England, China, Australia and in her home country, Sweden. The work is displayed and represented internationally at Mouche Gallery in LA & Hawaii, Opera Gallery in London, DTR Modern in Boston, Washington DC & Palm beach, The New Gallery of Modern Art in Charlotte, and Galleri GKM in Sweden. Clara completed a Bachelor of Photography at the Queensland College of Art in 2009.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I create conceptual art photography with the ultimate aim of being self-sufficient and democratic, for everyone to enjoy. It is not meant to be prescriptive and does not require explanation. Rather, I wish that the work can be instinctively understood and emotionally felt by the viewer. Looking for universal triggers; the everyday objects that we are all surrounded by, I work to create art with a simple approach, driven by a sense of joy, lust, and energy. The work references primitive signs and symbols with universal meanings. There is a familiarity that can be detected, meaningful to a wide and diverse audience, not limited by ethnicity, education, age, or sex. Often my images portray small-scale installations painted with a pop artist palette. Exploration and experimentation with colour, form, and perspective create transformed and surreal objects that are not typically seen. In
viewing these familiar sights in new, fascinating, and playful contexts, the viewer is invited into the realm of fantasy. I like to keep my art light and whimsical, yet tempting and thought provoking. I am intrigued by and draw influence from various movements; from Magritte’s surrealism, Mondrian’s geometric abstraction, and Warhol’s pop art. By mixing the various forms I am creating my own expression. Pushing objects to the edge of realism, I work with a varied mix of motifs and materials when composing the sculptural form of my compositions, but the end product is always a photograph of my installation. I use colour for its immense expressive capacity and to communicate new ideas, moods, connections, and contexts. Through transcendence and transformation of ‘the everyday object’, I aim to alter the viewer’s perception, to change and twist our understanding of common objects. My art offers the audience different ways of viewing; either sensorily by absorbing the colour, forms, and materials; or semiotically by studying the signs and symbols, reflecting on underlying meanings and enticing our imaginations. I don’t wish to prescribe or constrain any specific meanings to the work, but rather I hope to invite the viewer to create his or her own construct and experience. If the viewer are however curious to learn more about the thought process and the references I’ve used, I have provided short captions that can be found under each individual image in the portfolio.
