Abstract nominee

The physical space of landscapes can be closely tied to a person’s identity, sense of being, and infused with personal history. The composite, textured landscapes in the series “Imprints” are a re-creation of places and scenes from an estranged homeland. The series includes human scale abstract landscapes where several sheets of photographic paper with variable cutouts are layered together imitating landforms that have formed over millennia, images that utilize fingerprint, palm print and eye patterns, evoking the uniqueness of our connection with nature and images were parts of the landscape have been removed indicating how the earth is eroding. The visible and obscured parts of the landscape suggest the interplay of effects between man and nature, as well as the imperfections of memory, with juxtaposed textures emphasizing the mind’s inability to retain and fully comprehend its environment. The discontinuity between the images induces the viewer to draw on their own experiences to complete the work. Finally, by incorporating human biological patterns, the images speak to our individual responsibility for our impressions upon nature.

Charlotta María Hauksdóttir is an Icelandic artist based in California, working primarily in photography. Residing in the USA for over 15 years, she still draws inspiration from her home country Iceland. Her work centers around the unique connection one has to places and moments in time, and how memories embody and elevate those connections. Charlotta graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with an MFA in Photography, in 2004, and received a BA in Photography from the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, Italy, in 1997.
Her work has been exhibited around the world, with solo exhibitions in the USA, Russia, and Iceland, most recently at the Reykjavik Museum of Photography. She has received a number of awards and has been published in several magazines and books. Her work is part of numerous public and private collections all over the world, including corporate collections, the latest acquisition being by Stanford Health Care.