Visual Artist

Clara Dackenberg (born in Umeå in 1987, based in Malmö) is educated at Konstfack and HDK and works as an illustrator and visual artist. Since her picture book debut in 2010, her illustrated books have been nominated for awards such as the August Prize, Elsa Beskow Plaque, and Runeberg Junior, and have been featured in the exhibition 'Contemporary Swedish Illustrators' at the Bologna Book Fair, curated by the Swedish Arts Council.

The method behind her illustrations is entirely analog, and therefore time-consuming, but it is motivated by the idea that this approach allows the entire image surface to be filled with information and poetic qualities. Even in her more experimental work, aimed at exhibitions and design commissions, the trace of the hand and tactile qualities are central. In this context, she primarily works sculpturally, using fresh wood and hand tools, in dialogue with the tradition of crafts and folk art.