Katja Larsson | Myth / Machine

Katja Larsson’s fascination with mythology and ancient lore emerges in her sculptural practice, which centers on 21st-century objects branded after classical heroes and deities. Everyday items such as the truck tire Hercules All Trac and the MC helmet Icarus 10.7 are reconsidered in relation to their given names and transformed to resemble classical sculptures through the use of bronze, eco-resin, and stone. Classical brand names and contemporary logotype symbolism become clues in an archaeological examination, where tires, exhaust pipes, and petrol tanks emerge as antique artifacts of the present day. The artist invites the viewer to reframe their perception of everyday objects by drawing our attention to the ever-lasting echoes of classical icons and timeless archetypes present throughout history and into the modern era. Through her work, Larsson questions this coincidence and makes a statement about society at large.

Myth / Machine resembles a museum of classical antiquity, a collection of modern-day relics from a time before any ecological horizon, a time of roaring engines, and a petrol-fuelled industrial complex. In this exhibition, Larsson plays with the idea of the classical myth, in which gods are forever shapeshifting to interfere with the narratives of humankind and questions whether these branded objects are results of a similar metamorphosis. The naming of these items suggests a shift of devotion, from traditional religious reverence to a deification of consumer goods, vehicles, and machines. Worship and praise are afforded to objects of this nature, and through our ownership of these, we seek to imbue ourselves with the grace, and the wrath, of the gods.