Klara Zetterholm: Reconstructing the Uncertain Past

Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Klara Zetterholm’s works challenge our understanding of history, inviting us to question what is real and what is imagined in her hybrid world of myth, science fiction, and alternative natural histories.

With a background in scenography and decor painting, Klara Zetterholm has honed an ability to manipulate materials, motifs, and historical narratives. Using techniques common in set and stage design, she constructs alternative histories—faux archaeological findings and imagined natural histories—often drawing on ideas of non-linear time, mythological figures, and science fiction.

Her reliefs, crafted from freshly made plaster and layered with a patina to mimic age, are a curious hybrid of prehistoric, medieval, and futuristic motifs. They evoke a sense of familiarity yet resist any historical or scientific accuracy, creating an uncanny world where time and meaning collide.

Her life-size sculptures of pre-human “people” suggest an alternative natural history, or future. With close attention to detail, master craftsmanship and a rich imagery of alternative plants, animals and human life, Zetterholm makes art that offers a chance to learn from a fictional history and reflect on our own collective human journey.