• “Whiteout”, 2001. Animated film. Katarina Löfström

    Until the Morning, In Conversation With Sophie Allgårdh & Katarina Löfström

    Written by Natalia Muntean by Sandra Myhrberg

    We can talk about Katarina Löfström’s art and describe it in different ways, but to me, it’s poetry. It’s both poetic and cerebral,” says Sophie Allgårdh, curator of “Visions,” an exhibition featuring video works and sculptural installations by Katarina Löfström, at the Thiel Gallery in Stockholm.

    Often referred to as Stockholm's hidden jewel, the Thiel Gallery exhibits a unique collection of Nordic late 19th and early 20th-century art, hosting the largest and most significant Edvard Munch collection outside of Norway and works signed by Rodin, Vigeland, Carl Larsson and others. Starting on May 25th until October 20th, the museum will host “Visions.”. Born in 1970 in Falun and currently living and working in Stockholm, the artist Katarina Löfström will exhibit pieces created from 2001, such as “Whiteout”, as well as newer works; some inspired by the Swedish painter Stefan Johansson (1876–1955). Johans- son’s bold studies of light are displayed alongside Löfström’s work in an exhibition called “A New Light”, on show at the Thiel Gallery from March 23rd to September 1.

    With a background in creating scripts for pop videos for the likes of Madonna and Prodigy, and at certain points in her life hosting bootleg clubs, Löfström takes a lot of inspiration from electronic music when creating and trying to achieve almost the impossible – visualising music and trying to grasp the intangible. “I work mainly with video in close connection with sound or music. These ideas of music and visuals having an almost sacred bond have always been there, and I try to find that perfect balance between the music and the visuals. Some of my works depict light and explore the different ways it can be used for meditation or contemplation,” says Löfström. This fascination with light became her connection to the Thiel Gallery and the paintings that adorn the museum’s walls. “Many of the paintings from that era depict twilight, early mornings, and nights that are almost entirely illuminated with very little sunset. This makes them particularly special for Nordic art because these kinds of evenings are unique to this part of the world,” says Allgårdh. Löfström’s art is ethereal, quiet even, and it invites you to sit with it. To sit with your emotions and yourself. This feeling is strengthened by the history and gravitas of the Thiel Gallery, whose walls have witnessed countless stories of the human experience. “I create situations where hopefully I can let things be open and let you find a platform where you can think and judge for yourself. I work intuitively and art is a free space for me where I don’t have to perform intellectually. I try not to overthink while I’m working,” says Löfström.

    When asked about her hope for the exhibition, Löfström says that she would want the works from the permanent collection to be the gateway into her work because they all try to grasp the intangible – understanding the condition of being human. “Something that I recognise within my perspective, when I look at the artists that are in this collection is the interest in the human gaze: the way you look at things, how you deconstruct an image, and what is it that you see,” says Löfström. She applies this skill to her work, breaking down and reassembling topics that capture her attention.

    During the time of Signe Maria and Ernest Thiel, the ones who commissioned the villa at the beginning of the 1900s and built the permanent collection, the large gallery halls served as a stage for art in all of its manifestations. Any expression of artistry, whether music, poetry, philosophy, or dance, was present in the villa, embodying the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk – a cradle where various forms of art created by different artists come together to form a unified whole. This legacy is something the museum preserves through exhibitions and a dynamic programming that bring together different iterations of art and create a contrast to the sobriety of the permanent collection, this being the case with the ethereal nature of Löfström’s work. “Katarina is shedding a new light on the permanent collection, putting it into a new setting, and giving it a different understanding,” says Allgårdh. “I think it’s interesting how she has evolved and has become braver but still kept true to the core of her art. The moving images are still there.” While abstract, her work always reflects a concept or an idea that she is drawn to and wants to express and is inspired by personal issues that she needs to address, but her themes are universal. “We’re so similar to the people who once frequented this house,” says Löfström. “Those artists had the same longings, the same core as any person. We all go through loss, angst and love.”

    The Thiel Gallery, beautifully set in the Royal Park of Djurgården in Stockholm, houses a world class collec- tion of paintings and sculptures by Nordic artists from the turn of the century 1900. Temporary exhibitions are arranged year around. Café Monika Ahlberg offers lunches and homemade cakes with outdoor serving in the sculpture park during spring and summer. In the museum shop you find unique products inspired by the art collection.

    Bus 67 and Boat 80. Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 12 pm–5 pm
    (May–September: Thursday 12-8 pm).

    “Open Source (Cinemascope)”, 2018. Katarina Löfström
    “Point Blank”, 2021. Uv-print on birch plywood. Katarina Löfström
    “Echo, echo, echo”, 2023. Sculptural installation. Jean-Baptiste Béranger
    “An Island”, 2004. Animated film. Katarina Löfström
    “Whiteout”, 2001. Animated film. Katarina Löfström
    text Natalia Muntean
    portrait photography Jakob Möller
    hair & makeup Emélie Bodén & Filippa Finn
    special thanks to the Thiel Gallery

  • photography Joseph Cultice

    fashion Lauren Lusardi

    .

    mayumi oda SNOWDON knit'couture

    Audrey Nuna: A Journey Through Music, Fashion, and Creative Exploration

    Written by Josie McNeill by Sandra Myhrberg

    Before finding her favorite bands and writing her own songs, Audrey Nuna had her voice. It was her voice and singing that made her fall in love with music, not the other way around. The American singer and rapper started singing when she was around seven or eight years old through auditioning for musicals and choirs. By the time she turned 17, she was recording and releasing her own music. She started working with her producer Anwar Sawyer when she was still in college and signed her record deal with Arista records at age 20.
    The now 25 year old released her most recent single “Jokes on Me,” an ethereal, electronic track, on May 3, and is currently gearing up for her sophomore album. Audrey talked to Odalisque about the cinematic inspirations for her sound, her fashion collaborations, and her hopes for the music industry.

    What inspired you to pursue a music career?
    Musically I come from a place of just loving to sing. It's my first love when it comes to music. People like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, these diva singers who I grew up idolizing, played a really big part in just pushing me to become a musician. But I feel like I've just been organically doing it my whole life, and it's somehow become a career so I feel truly grateful for that, honestly.

    How did you develop your sound then? It’s really interesting that Celine Dion was one of your biggest inspirations because her music is so different from yours.
    She’s more than a music inspiration, I would say. She's one of the people who as a kid, like a very young kid, I’d watch YouTube videos of singing, and it really pushed me to be a better singer. In terms of musical inspiration and influence sonically, I didn't grow up listening to that much music to be honest. But when I started listening to more of my own music and finding my own taste in high school, it was things like listening to Radiohead and Childish Gambino, Missy Elliott, Beastie Boys–just the kind of people who forge their own sound and their own path that really inspired me and inspired my producer. I take influence from a lot of different places. I can't necessarily cite main influences. I think I just take what I like from basically everything in my life; it doesn't even have to be music.  I definitely take inspiration from films, from fashion, just anywhere and everywhere–things happening in my life.

    Did you have any specific music or movie inspiration for your song “Joke's On Me”?
    For the music side, we as a group loved Don Toliver. We loved this combination of very r&b-esque chords, which I feel like you know, Anwar really brought on the guitar. Then this idea of intense and punchy 808s came from my other producer Miles Aside. So this collision of worlds from the beginning of that trip–we were actually in Joshua Tree making a lot of music–we discussed this idea of if Stevie Wonder and Lil Uzi had a [musical] baby. So I think that was kind of the through-line for a lot of the songs we wrote.

    What was the process of writing “Joke's On Me”? How did you blend those two sounds, the silky r&b and punch 808s, together?
    It came together really fast. It was literally me and then three of my friends just sitting in a dark room somewhere in Joshua Tree. The melody was actually a one-take. We had the melody sitting there for a long time, but we were kind of overlooking it, trying to think of other things and then we came back to the very first take. From there we decided that this is obviously what the song is supposed to be, and I just wrote it out. Honestly, it was one of the quicker ones because I really take time with my lyrics to make sure it's good and rewrite and all those things. For this one, it was just a visceral experience of what I feel like saying. Maybe even some lyrics don't make perfect, perfect logic sequential sense. But I think that for that song and that experience of making that song, that experience of being in Joshua Tree with the four of us, the whole thing was just going based on energy and going based on feeling so the song came together really easily in that way.

    How was that process of putting that song together and making your recent songs different from putting together your first album ‘a lA Liquid bBreakfast’?
    For this project, we tried to do trips and travel with a little bit more intention than we did for the first project. The first project was very much a hometown project. Well, it was really my producer's hometown because we worked out of his space. I was still living at home for a lot of it or going to school at NYU. So there was just this home and groundedness to it, I would say. The second project is more wild wild west. That was the feeling for me because I had just moved to a new city–LA. I was still figuring out what my actual creative, safe space is that I can record and feel comfortable. For that reason, we did a lot of searching. We traveled to Joshua Tree. There are literally some vocals that were recorded in random places in the states just because I was on tour for a little bit of time. Some ideas and concepts were conceived in places like Tokyo because I was able to travel to places like that as well. So I think this new project was much more migrant, in my view of the word. It took place a little bit all over the place. It was more scattered, whereas the first project was very central to home and central to a safe place. I think for that reason, the first project has a sense of innocence and a sense of just a desire to go explore the world whereas the second project has the sense of the world is a crazy place and processing that information. I would say that's probably the main difference.

    That's cool. Did that traveling aspect of making the music inspire the outer space aesthetic of your new song?
    I feel like that was something that really came from the director of the music video to be honest. Like we kind of came up with the concept together. But actually now that I do think about it, I do think that this idea of outsiderness, which is very big in all my music, with this idea of landing in a new place for the first time, is definitely one of the central concepts we wanted to start with the video. I shot “Locket” and “Joke's On Me” within the same timeframe. But for both of those videos, what creates a villain and what makes somebody feel so unfamiliar with the world that they become a bad person was kind of the question that we asked. So I think with the “Joke's On Me” video, it was a prelude to the idea of, you know, landing in that foreign place for the first time or getting to that foreign place for the first time and not knowing what to expect. And that's probably why the video came to be the way it is.

    I saw that you also released a corset along with “Joke's On Me”. How did that collaboration come together?
    I worked with this amazing digital fashion collective called Syky and the really great designer Fanrui Sun. It just came through, honestly, meeting them and them being very supportive of my project. I was also very curious about digital fashion. I proposed to them as a theme for the design concepts, this idea of glamor and fashion almost being a defense mechanism. Which, interestingly enough, was definitely one of the thoughts we had on making that video as well. So we wanted to illustrate something beautiful, something elegant, something that can be worn at places like a gala, but still have this sense of warrior defense. We tried to find this middle ground. A lot of the songs I've written and a lot of the themes that I've been exploring with this upcoming album are just this idea of nothing is as it seems, and sometimes you find yourself in places of glamor, but you feel isolated. So I think that with this capsule, really the aim was to explore that and show that visually.

    You also dress really cool in your Instagram posts, so I was wondering what inspired your fashion aesthetic?
    Honestly, there are so many different things, but I would say a lot of elderly like grandmas and grandpas dress really fly, especially in New York. Living in New York was hugely inspiring to me on the fashion side. Just the sense of freedom that comes with seeing people and how they dress in the city. In a city as, you know, sometimes as brutal as New York, being an individual is the least of your fears in a way. Also, I'm inspired by a lot of Industrial Tech where a lot of very practical uniforms are created for a specific purpose. I think I find and gravitate towards them as something that I find stylish, whether it's construction workers or handymen or plumbers, even like just tactical gear. All those things are really inspiring to me.

    How do you think music and fashion go hand in hand?
    I feel like all creative disciplines are actually the same at the core. Just this idea of combining different flavors, which is why I also really love and respect chefs, because I feel like that is the most primal form of creativity in a way. They really tickle the same part of the brain. They really exercise the same part of the brain. It's all about just combining the things that make you you, which maybe traditionally we've been taught are not supposed to be together. So this idea of ignoring the rules and just bringing together all the things that you love exists both in music and fashion.

    On your Instagram in early February, you made a post about how music has become a medium more for profit than creativity, and I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit more on this and how you work to combat that in your own work?
    I think we're in an era right now where there's a lot of saturation, and I mean, we're definitely in a time where music is not valued the way it used to be, probably because of the fact that it's so accessible and easy to make. Literally anyone can make music with a laptop. On top of that, with streaming and how much of a very prominent role is taken in the way we consume music, there's this idea that you have all the music in the world at your fingertips for a flat fee each month. I think both of these things have contributed to music just being very devalued in a way, at least on a practical front. Music is really seen, a lot of times, as a means to an end whereas for a lot of musicians and artists, it's still a way of life and a mission and a way to heal themselves and hopefully heal others. So I think that this range of what music means to different people–even the fact that we're in a space where people don't listen to a full song anymore, it's just about the soundbite for social media–all of these things. I think we're very much in a bit of a purge in terms of where the value of music is going and how are we going to rearrange ourselves from this moment and create a new system for music to be received and valued, hopefully at the level that that it takes for a lot of artists to create their music in an honest, genuine and non-consumer based way.

    Before being signed to a label you used to release music independently. What advice would you give to artists looking to pursue a similar path into the music industry?
    For any artists trying to be independent, I would say two things. First, I would definitely say that if you desire to, you know, own your own music and do it that way, it's possible, but it's of course very difficult, and I think just mentally preparing yourself for that challenge is really important. Then the second thing I would say is, as an independent artist, understanding money is important. I think that's something I was naive to coming up in this industry where I was like, I don't care about money. I care about creativity. And I still feel the same exact way, but I think what I realized is in order to infiltrate the game, you need to understand the rules and you need to have a clear view of where your perspective is at. So basically the knowledge of money and understanding it will never hurt you. Of course when you become a servant to money, that's where the issue is, and I think that's where your creativity is in danger. But when it comes to trying to build your own independent situation, you really do need to understand just how the business and the money sides function in order for you to have the most freedom with your creativity as possible.

    Are you currently working on any upcoming projects?
    I'm currently wrapping up my newest project and have a few more songs coming out before then, but very excited to share everything I've been working on for the past few years.

    One last thing before we end: What was it like collaborating with artists like Jack Harlow and Teezo Touchdown?
    Honestly, both are just really nice guys. First and foremost, I'm lucky that I could say I've worked with people who are as respected as they are and actually just well-raised people. With Teezo especially, I feel like the short time that we did spend on a video set or you know, at, like random events that we run into each other, he just has a lot of creative energy and it's really encouraging to see someone who's on the same wavelength doing their thing. So yeah, shout out to both of them.

    mayumi oda SNOWDON knit'couture
    mayumi oda SNOWDON knit'couture

    photography Joseph Cultice

    fashion Lauren Lusardi

    hair & makeup Audrey Nuna

    assistants Keegan Kruse & Lucian Rodrigue

  • The Design Interview: Vincent Laine

    Written by Yasmine M

    For the design enthusiasts within photography and lifestyle, you may have come across this designer's work. Vincent Laine is the award-winning designer, behind products such as the Leica Q and Q2, Hasselblad CFV-50c and lately the Db Ramverk Pro Luggage collection. Today, as the creative director at Db, he still is focused on his minimalistic yet powerful designs. Odalisque Magazine, got a sit down with the designer to talk about his journey, aspirations for his upcoming work and thoughts on Japanese Kansei Design.

    Y: When did your passion for design start? Tell us a bit about your journey within design.
    V:  Most of my family members had a medium for creative output whether it was painting, garments or woodwork. With that said I do not believe that this kind of upbringing validates your creative capabilities by any means, or is a prerequisite in order to pursue a creative career - it is just my story and thinking about about makes me feel grateful. When thinking about the range of creative mediums that I work with from product design, photography, physical installations, video, copy and so on - I can certainly reference the openness to any medium or creative field through my childhood.

    You have designed everything from Leica cameras to luggage. How did that happen and what has been most fun and inspiring?
    As a teenager I started searching for “my” creative field, and later ended up in design school. During studies me and some classmates won a local design contest and I bought a camera for the money - only to end up extremely dissatisfied with the product because of how poor the user experience was, of crafting an image with that camera was. I was already 3-4 years into design school and so I decided to design my own camera (as a fake 3D concept) to provoke and channel my frustration, but I wanted this to feel and look real, so I picked Leica as the brand for this concept and studied their design language and brand assets to include that into my work. A couple of weeks later I received a phone call from the director of product management at the time, the call started with a firm explanation of how I had vialated the right to use their brand in my work - but towards the end of the call the tone shifted ending up with an internship at Leica. A year later (2014) I had dropped out of the university and landed my dream job as product designer at Leica.

    ''I was already 3-4 years into design school and so I decided to design my own camera…''

    How was it to start at Leica?
    The first project on my table was the Leica Q. Over the following years I got the opportunity to also design the Leica Q2, before leaving Germany and going back home to Sweden, more precisely Gothenburg where the camera brand Hasselblad is located. A great brand dedicating their craft to design and photographic excellence - but I wouldn’t help but noticing a pattern of repetition. Not just by designing camera bodies and lenses but also through celebration of historical brand milestones. Leica had celebrated their 100 year anniversary when I joined and at Hasselblad the celebration was 50 years on the moon and it got me thinking “Id like to be a part of making those milestones instead looking back.

    Tell me a bit more about your design journey for DB? How did you start out at DB?
    As a camera designer I traveled to see the world through my viewfinder and ultimately improve them - but instead something else caught my attention. Luggage. Hard case luggage in particular. I had a hard time finding a brand that spoke to me as a young creative. When I looked at the market I saw many luggage companies producing luggage - but very few brands with a belief and a perspective on the world. So, I started looking for up and coming brands and came across Db - contacted them and pitched hard case the same way as I did a few years back at Leica. A couple months later (October 2019) I moved to Oslo to design the hard case collection today known as the Ramverk Pro. Everything originated from the Ramverk Front Access Carry-on which was designed to host a professional camera insert if you are a photographer. The only way to create this spacious carry-on hard case was to connect the shells together somehow and our solution to that was the aluminum frame. The frame was then carried over to the other sizes of the collection - but instead of connecting the shells together - it works as a closure mechanism replacing the weakest component of conventional luggage, the zipper.

    As the appointed Creative Director, what are your aspirations and hopes for the brand, especially the travel pieces? What is important for you to focus on?
    My hope is that Db as a brand continues to push the envelope of creative thinking, through both design and marketing at the intersection of our subcultures where we enable these journeys and stories to happen all over the world. I genuinely believe that mixing genres of creativity is the future. Look at music 100 years ago, “featuring XYZ” between artists was unheard of, mixing genres even more so - now it’s the norm and new subcategories are created every day. That’s the vibe and spirit that I see for Db in the future just through product and culture. Db has an inherent duality that speaks evolution to me, designing so-called “spearhead” products in core communities and subcultures like skate, snow surf and photo. But instead of trying adapt to each activity or community, we believe in a more holistic approach where our perspective on design is the constant - essentially what it comes down to is the juxtaposition of two components - Rugged and Refined. A layering that we call Capable Elegance. Capable enough to be thrown in back of a safari, elegant enough be a part of your furniture when you get home.

    How did you choose the fabrics and designs for the latest Ramverk Pro? What makes it special for you, and is there something you are especially proud of with the latest design?
    The fabrics of the Ramverk Pro were carefully selected in terms of touch and feel but even more so since we were in a phase at Db while we were shifting all our main fabrics to 100% recycled. In this case 100% recycled Polyester.

    In social media you talked about Kansei design, a Japanese term that refers to the thought that objects evoke feelings. Tell me a bit more about that.
    I believe that objects and products evoke emotions within all of us, some people are more sensitive than others. But at the end we are vastly affected by the products and objects around us and I believe we speak too little about it, even in design. Maybe because it is a bit abstract, maybe because it’s personal or maybe because there is vulnerability in the statement. Nevertheless I designed the hard case collection to radiate confidence, through its features, precision, center of gravity, haptics, materials - why? Because my conviction was that confidence is the number one emotion you want to feel when going to that photo shoot, design pitch, interview, show or whatever is happening in your life. The last thing you want is to not be able to trust your gear.
     

    As someone who design luggage, what are some important things you do when traveling? Any travel advice? Going places usually gives you the opportunity to observe human behaviour filtered through different cultures or sometimes even raw instinct. I find this inspiring. At the end of the day, as designers we are forming the future and it is important to connect with a collective present - travel can provide that vantage point and render it from a distance where things align into a pattern. The best souvenir one can bring back home if you ask me. Working for a journey brand I do travel for both work and personal reasons. For work it’s mostly about coming together as a group, whether it is with the team or our customers/community. When I travel outside of work it’s usually to trigger new emotions, to grow and get the time to reflect in an environment where I dont know the names of the streets if the place even offers such luxury.

    As a designer and visionary, where do you hope your next travel destination is and why?
    As a designer Japan has a special place in my heart. It triggers curiosity, hope for the future and naturally surrounds you with genuine passion for creation.

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