Klara Källström and Thobias Fäldt
Klara Källström (1984) and Thobias Fäldt (1978), known as KK+TF, are photographers from Sweden. Although the authors work on their individual projects, too, since 2005 KK+TF have been working in tandem, creating co-works that have been published in books, shown in exhibitions and exhibited as installations.
In the course of the first project Wikiland, photographers follow the leader of Wikileaks Julian Assange during his court proceedings in England, taking photos of elements that characterized the surroundings of Assange at the time, including interior objects, clothing details, encompassing even the crowds of photojournalists and a flock of sheep in the frame. Whereas work Europe, Greece, Athens, Acropolis has been created when photographing the huge strikes taking place in Acropolis and Syntagma square in Greece, in October 2011. KK+TF share a common visual language that is characteristics for their images – centred objects and elements of surroundings flashed with a flashlight.
Wikiland and the following series have been published in a book format. Creating photo books with a unique design is an essential part of the creative work of KK+TF. In 2011 KK+TF in cooperation with 1:2:3 founded an independent book-publishing house B-B-B-Books.
The works of KK+TF will be shown in the exhibition Viewfinders. Contemporary Baltic and Nordic Photography organised in the framework of Riga Photo Month 2014. They will also take part at the Portfolio Review on May 9th.
For a while now you have been working on projects together. What are the challenges to bring the individual approach of each of you to common ground and successful collaboration?
The foundation of our work has evolved over a long period of time spent together. We formulate the ideas in the dynamics of us two. It’s difficult to make distinctions in who contributes with what, since the projects are the results of two individuals’ minds that come together.
Some of your work seems to reflect on global issues, while your last book A Beach is focusing on a personal story line. How do you get to the stories and what hooks you on a specific topic?
Both A Beach and Europe, Greece, Athens, Acropolis are projects on global issues, but addressed differently. They both relate to the present and they zoom in and out of time.
The history is approached in various ways, for instance, through cracks in stones, a childhood memory or the history of photography. What usually triggers an idea is how a micro and macro perspective can be applied to all sorts of events in the human history.
B-B-B-Books is an exciting collaboration between photographers and designers. What were the main interests for creating an independent publishing house and how important for you is the design of a book?
The books are a result of the collaboration between all of us in the group. Outside this collaboration, the books wouldn’t exist like this. Making a book is to make something physical. The physical brings experience to the intellect and vice versa. The books are the projects and cannot be reduced to photography and design.
Your works will be presented at the Riga Photo Month 2014. How important is the regionality in photography and the connection of artists through such events?
It’s very exciting to go to Riga and the Photo Month because of the fact that we are closely connected geographically, but little connected artistically. Since there has been a disconnection between our countries for a long time, ideas on the borders of the mind become interesting. This has now started to be examined. A cultural event like a contemporary photography exhibition with exhibitors from various backgrounds will probably challenge many thoughts on borders / regionality.
What are you working on now?
A project called Village that was started during our artist-in-residency stay at VU Photo in Quebec City, Canada last spring. It’s a project about a region’s colonial history seen through the native languages in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
