“When you work with beauty, it’s important that there’s also an ingredient of darkness”

Julia Hetta describes herself as a romantic. She appreciates beauty and says she falls for it easily. It seems a fortunate disposition for a photographer, but Hetta, being Swedish, also observes lagom—the concept of “just the right amount.”

In Hetta’s photographs, subjects that are obviously beautiful—flowers, fashion models—are subsequently tempered by items a touch more grotesque. For example, she managed to slip two pints of milk and a tin of sardines into an advertising campaign for Anya Hindmarch and a sheep’s skull into a commission for Le Bon Marché.

Even in her personal work, fish heads, half-eaten bananas and dead birds appear regularly. “When you work with beauty, it’s important that there’s also an ingredient of darkness,” she explains. “It’s impor...