Bless, Boudicca, Sandra Backlund

Photographer Ola Bergengren tested a variety of ways to shoot Backlund’s designs to best effect, including photographing them flat. Like Rorschach inkblot tests, the photographs draw attention to the symmetrical quality and idiosyncratic shapes of Backlund’s output. In one image, her clothing appears to flutter in a breeze, drawing attention to its weightless quality and materiality. Other images accentuate the animalistic qualities of Backlund’s work, drawing attention to rib- and vertebrae-like details. Another design is shown curled like a shell, underscoring Backlund’s interest in forms derived from nature. In all the images, however, Bergengren emphasized the intricacy and delicacy of Backlund’s work.


Sandra Backlund. Crochet Top and Hand-Knitted Skirt, from the collection Pool Position, Spring/Summer 2009. Courtesy of Sandra Backlund.