Carl-Mikael Ström Sweden, b. 1986

Carl-Mikael Ström doesn’t call himself an artist, a photographer, or a filmmaker. He is a montör (meaning someone who assembles). His first project, a monograph titled Montöristen, emerged from grappling with the reality of becoming a father; the failures and realities of the quotidian. In Brightness Hiding (The Failure..., his latest project his quest is for imagery beyond language. Ström challenges the idea that photography is a language and asks the viewer: what can be shown but not said.

Consequently, we interpret what we see. Ström believes there is isomorphic tension between the photograph and the actual object it reflects and that within this tension lies the strength of photography.