Inside Vogue Scandinavia's avatar's inaugural fashion shoot

The artists Inka and Niclas Lindergård met almost 15 years ago at art school. “We became a couple, and started working together almost simultaneously,” Inka tells me when I meet them in their studio in Liljeholmen, Stockholm. “We spent all this time together, helping one another; it was a natural progression that we started fusing our practices into one. And it’s always easier when there’s an extra set of hands.”

The duo’s work often plays with the idea of natural phenomena. Though their images depict authentic moments, by using specially configured equipment, they capture scenes that subvert the standard expectations for nature photography. Light hits a rock in a way that a very “unnatural”, fluorescent pink hue appears. A palm tree is illuminated in artificial purples as the sun rises. Their contemporary aesthetic mixes pop-like, hyper-realistic undertones with a stylistically classical approach to still imagery.

When approached by Vogue Scandinavia to create the backdrop for the our very own avatar AADA’s inaugural fashion story, the artist duo were excited – and a little perplexed. “It took us a while to understand the parameters of the project,” admits Niclas. “We haven’t worked editorially before,” adds Inka, “and certainly not on something as boundary pushing as this.”

AADA’s capabilities enable the Lindergårds to explore new dimensions to their art. In addition to the static imagery seen here in our print publication, AADA will immerse herself in Inka and Niclas’ artworks digitally as part of a special virtual reality rendering. The collaboration will enable viewers to delve into the artists' world as AADA interacts with it – all while styled in the latest looks, of course.

Related: Introducing Vogue Scandinavia's very own Avatar: AADA

“It has taken us time to wrap our heads around the possibilities of a project like this,” Inka says. “It feels obvious to us that AADA’s world should be created around the magical fraction of seconds when the camera shutter opens and registers the light of the flash. AADA will roam free in frozen moments of time we have captured. She will do something that no one else can. AADA will be allowed and encouraged to explore the inner trappings of our photographs online – it’s truly amazing.”

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Throughout their artistic practice, Inka and Niclas have also pushed the boundaries of conventional photography by creating and printing images on sculptural elements, such as small plaster formations that look like rocks, or plastic sheets that are draped over pegs on walls. Their photographs will be included in AADA’s digital world, creating layer upon layer of real environments for her to engage with.

Inka and Niclas’ work provides the ideal setting for AADA, who exists predominantly online but wears real-world clothing and holds real conversations. It would be easy to get lost in the meaning of such meta-experiences, yet the creators of these dreamy, ethereal images are incredibly grounded in their everyday life. They have two children and travel to remote locations for work in a motorhome with the entire family in tow. Their otherworldly work underpinned by a careful methodology and practicality.

They maintain that at its heart, their work is still about people and the real world. “We are interested in humankind’s expectations of nature,” Inka says. “We are so affected by popular culture, this informs everything we perceive in life.” Niclas continues, “It certainly has an impact on how we perceive our everyday. We are inundated with images all the time, surely this will make its mark on how we experience reality.”

Inka cites one of the region’s most photographed attractions to illustrate their point. “Take the Northern Lights. Even if you’ve been lucky enough to see this natural phenomenon in real life, it’s the images of this phenomenon that are etched into people’s minds. Niclas and I have seen it, but I’m not sure if the memory I have is of what I’ve seen in nature or one of the many pictures of the Northern Lights I also have stored in my mind.”

In the artists’ body of work, landscapes conjure up strong emotions, with the settings they depict seeming both dangerous and enticing. There is a mystical quality to their images, with their rose- and orange-tinted skies, pink oceans, and tropical forests, along with expanding images of flowers and other natural elements, often levitating in their work. Yet this also compounds a sense of uncertainty for the audience. The need to understand these images, how they were taken, and what they mean often becomes paramount in the viewer’s mind.

Through negotiating with the photographers’ artwork, we are pushed to question what is real and if reality matters to us. It’s this very self-referential existence that serves as a foundation for AADA. Does AADA become more real as we find her on the pages of a magazine, or is it when she starts interacting with people online, sharing opinions, information and even secrets that she becomes a reality? Is an avatar more than the sum of its parts? Where does the real world end and AADA and the Lindergårds’ digitally crafted world begin? There are no absolute answers to such questions. But whatever conclusions you draw from it, there’s little denying that this is a fascinating project to explore.