Bio

Klara Källström and Thobias Fäldt have been working together since 2005 and are based in Sweden. Grounded in the medium of photography, their work focuses on the production of knowledge, exploring the intersections of image and narrative, representation and reality, politics and aesthetics. Through engagements with the documentary, Källström and Fäldt have produced a number of works relating to places undergoing paradigmatic changes where they seek to activate historical layers and notions of uncertainty and chance in order to draw attention to the gap between what is visible and what is told.

In 2011, Källström and Fäldt started the continuous project Wikiland that takes its vantage point in the media image of the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The same year, Europe, Greece, Athens, Acropolis, became the starting point for a series of works on the representation of the Greek crisis beginning in Athens during the general strikes in October 2011 and followed up in 2016 in 25 Lemon Trees, No Gardeners. From an artist-residency in Quebec stems the project Village (2015) that revolves around the loss of indigenous languages after the colonization of North America. In exhibited form the work A Beach (2015) draws attention to the gallery space and its ability to accumulate value to an eroded history, in this case the one of Jaffa, Palestine. The Last of the Lucky began to take form in 2014 in Havana when Källström and Fäldt met with the former photographer of Fidel Castro who put the last analogue film rolls on Cuba at their disposal. In 2016, the series was extended to The Last of the Lucky / You Can’t Always Get What You Want where the gaze is turned towards the US and where the change in the Americas is manifesting itself in messages sent over the US social network Twitter leading up to the US presidential elections later that year. The Last of the Lucky / You Can’t Always Get What You Want was released as a book in the summer of 2017. In the beginning of 2018, together with French photography collector and artist Thomas Sauvin, Källström and Fäldt initiated a work that takes its vantage point in Sauvin’s Silvermine archive which is a collection of half a million negatives salvaged in Beijing. Onthisday.com is the world’s largest historical events online database and in their latest collaboration On This Day, they orchestrate an improbable encounter between these two sources. In November of 2018 they initiated the work The Swedish Matter which is a long term project revisiting the Swedish history and its blind spots. In 2019 they collaborated with Museum of Yugoslavia and it’s photographic archive of President Josip Broz Tito.

Their works have been exhibited internationally including Unseen and CO-OP Unseen in Amsterdam, Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow during Krakow Photomonth Festival, Le Bal (Paris), Photo Saint Germain (Paris), LACMA (Los Angeles), Trafó House of Contemporary Arts (Budapest), Aperture Foundation (New York), Kunstal Charlottenborg (Copenhagen), Hasselblad Centre (Gothenburg) CFF/Center for Photography and Fotografiska (Stockholm). Källström and Fäldt have received the Documentary Award from the Museum of Work in Sweden (2015), Sundsvall Museum’s Art Award (2016), Greenhill Art Award (2014) and Scanpix Photo Prize (2012 and 2006). They have received scholarships from Iaspis: the Swedish Arts and Grants Committee’s International Programme for Visual and Applied Artists for the Artist-in-Residence at Nova Iskra in Belgrade (2016) and from CALQ in Quebec, Canada (2013) and The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm for the Artist-in-Residence at La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (2017).

Since 2011, they are the founders of the publishing platform B-B-B-Books. In the spring of 2018, Tate Modern in London acquired the complete set of published books by B-B-B-Books.

Källström and Fäldt hold working grants from the Swedish Arts and Grants Committee and the Writers Committee in Sweden. Källström is a lecturer at the Master’s and Bachelor’s Program of Fine Arts in Photography at HDK-Valand, Gothenburg University.

Awards / Grants / Artist in Residence

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2019 – Källström

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2019 – Fäldt

Two year working grant from Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2018 – Källström

Project grant from the City of Gothenburg, 2018 – Källström / Fäldt

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2018 – Källström

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2018 – Fäldt

Artist-in-Residence at Air Trieste, Italy, 2018 – Källström / Fäldt

Two year working grant from Swedish Authors’ Fund, 2018 – Fäldt

Project grant from the City of Gothenburg, 2017 – Källström / Fäldt

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2017 – Källström

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2017 – Fäldt

Shortlisted at Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, Prix du Livre, 2017 – Källström / Fäldt

Artist-in-Residence at Lucy Art Rescidency, Second prize winners, Greece, 2017 – Källström / Fäldt

Shortlisted at MAD book award, 2017 – Källström / Fäldt

Project grant from Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2017 – Källström / Fäldt

Artist-in-Residence at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, granted through The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm, Sweden, 2017 – Källström / Fäldt

Grant from Grafström-Sandqvist Fund / Sundsvall’s Museum, 2016 – Källström

Grant from KKN, Nordic Culture Point, 2016 – Källström / Fäldt

Artist-in-Residence at Nova Iskra in Belgrade, granted thorough Iaspis, 2016 – Källström / Fäldt

Grant from Theodor och Hanne Mannheimers Fund, 2016 – Källström

Artist-In-Residence at the Swedish Institute in Kavalla, granted thorough Swedish Photographers Association, Greece, 2015 – Fäldt

Shortlisted at The Swedish Photobook Award, 2016 – Källström / Fäldt

Grant from Swedish Arts Council, Distribution support to all Swedish public libraries, 2016 – Källström / Fäldt

Shortlisted at Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, Prix du Livre, 2015 – Källström / Fäldt

Artist-In-Residence at the Swedish Institute in Kavalla, granted thorough Swedish Photographers Association, Greece, 2015 – Källström

One year working grant from Swedish Authors’ Fund, 2015 – Fäldt

Award, Greenhill Art Award, Stockholm, 2015 – Källström / Fäldt

Artist-in-Residence at CULT in Oakland, granted thorough CULT Exhibitions, 2015 – Källström / Fäldt

Grant from Otto and Charlotte Mannheimer Fund, 2015 – Källström

Award, Museum of Work’s Documentary Award, Norrköping, 2014 – Källström / Fäldt

Shortlisted at The Swedish Photobook Award, 2014 – Källström / Fäldt

Two year working grant from Swedish Authors’ Fund, 2014 – Källström

Two year working grant from Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2013 – Källström

Two year working grant from Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2013 – Fäldt

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2013 – Källström

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2013 – Fäldt

Artist-in-Residence at VU Photo in Quèbec, granted through The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), Quèbec, Canada, 2013 – Källström / Fäldt

Award, Scanpix Big Photo Award, Stockholm, 2012 – Källström / Fäldt

Grant from Swedish Arts Council, Distribution support to all Swedish public libraries, 2012 – Källström / Fäldt

Grant from KKN, Nordic Culture Point, 2012 – Källström / Fäldt

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2012 – Källström

Shortlisted at Foam Paul Huf Award, 2012 – Källström / Fäldt

One year working grant from Swedish Authors’ Fund, 2012 – Källström

One year working grant from Swedish Authors’ Fund, 2012 – Fäldt

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2011 – Källström

Project grant from Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2010 – Fäldt

One year working grant from Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2011 – Källström

Grant from Helga Axons Stiftelse, 2010 – Fäldt

Travel grant from Iaspis, Swedish Arts Grants Committee, 2010 – Källström

Award, Russian Reporter magazine, Picture of the year, 2010 –  Fäldt

Shortlisted at Photo Eye, Santa Fe, Best book, 2009 – Källström

Shortlisted at Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, Prix du Livre, 2009 – Källström

One year working grant from Swedish Authors’ Fund, 2009 – Källström

Shortlisted at Kolla! Swedish Illustrators Association, 2009 – Källström

Travel grant from Swedish Photographers Association, 2009 – Källström

Shortlisted at Sjuhärad Photo award, 2007 – Källström / Fäldt

Award, Scanpix Big Photo Award, Stockholm, 2006 – Fäldt

Award, Swedish Magazine Publishers Association, 2006 – Fäldt