Conceptual nominee

This series is about mystery. Not the kind of mystery you solve, but the mystery of that which cannot be understood, uncovered, or known. It is an exploration into the unknown without the typically desired end of revealing secrets.

Like a story with an open ending, these images are meant to evoke and deepen mystery, not to provide explanations. The questions we ask in life are rarely answered to satisfaction. Even the events of our own lives lead, more often than not, to riddles that will never be solved. If we can enjoy the mere process of inquiry and find fulfillment in curiosity itself, we may come as close as ever to the secrets of life.

Natalie Arriola is a Los Angeles based fine art and portrait photographer. Her work explores philosophical themes which serve to question the flawed nature of human perception. She creates minimal surrealist imagery that is almost always dark, ominous, and subtly unsettling.

Her work has been featured in exhibitions at The Center for Fine Art Photography, PhotoPlace Gallery, and Black Box Gallery among others. She has been published in F-Stop Magazine, Dark Beauty X, Lenscratch, and Billboard Magazine.