Theo Elias is a Swedish artist
Episode 407: Swedish artist Theo Elias and I finally had a moment to discuss his work and books.
I met Theo through a mutual friend in Maja Daniels when his book Smoke dropped a few years ago. Smoke is a incredible book that hints at the difficulty of finding intimacy in an age where distance is king. Everything is one step removed and although the book itself is not about relationships or finding people, there is a sense of the opposite, of alienation and dissociation. Shot in grainy black and white, the work is unmoored, cold, and elicits a feeling of isolation.
During our discussion we spoke about the production of Theo’s books and how thinking through different printing processes such as Riso can make smaller editions easier and quicker to produce. His books Red and Fåglarna are both books that work as a trade and artist book at the same time. We also spoke about how the Theo’s quite specific process of exhibition installation and how the work can become immutable through various forms such as the photobook and through curation. Please Tune In!
