NABROAD | NEWS

Photographer Anja Niemi was born in Norway and educated at London College of Printing and Parsons School of Design in Paris and New York. Anja balances her work and family life between London and Oslo. In March 2012, Anja will be exhibiting at the Little Black Gallery in London. Looking at some of Anja’s photographs one can feel how empty rooms and spaces have been embodied, bringing the invisible within one’s eyesight. Needless to say, Art Review has hailed Anja in their “Future Greats” just after her first solo exhibition in 2006.

Introducing Anja Niemi with 10 questions: 

(by Tatevik Sargsyan for N|N ©2011)

What camera do you use?

AN:  I got a digital Hasselblad a few years ago, but I prefer working with film and polaroid whenever I can.

Who are your main influences?

AN: Although I work very intuitively, I am inspired by movies, and often watch David Lynch films like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, just to look at the colours.

Explain ‘Do not disturb’ in three words

AN: Confessional, hotel room, self-portraits.

What are you working on now?

AN: My next show ‘Do not disturb’ is still in the making, I have a few trips planned before the show in march, hoping to go to Warsaw and Stockholm for the last two shoots.

Recommend a photography exhibition in London

AN: Right now I am at home with a baby girl, but I would have loved to see Charles Mattons’ Retrospective at All Visual Arts.

London or Oslo?

AN: London for work, but Oslo for family life, I like a simple and slow paced life, but for my work I want the opposite, and I am lucky to be able to get both.

Black and white or colour?

AN:  I love colour, although a lot of my pictures tend to be almost monochrome, only including a few colours at a time.

Who would you like to collaborate with?

AN: My sister Lena Niemi is a writer, and we have a dream to create a film together. She creates amazing stories, and it would be really fun to visualise them.
 

Where is your next show?

AN: ”Do not disturb” will show at Little Black Gallery at the end of March 2012.
 

Where is your favourite location for a shoot?

AN: I had an amazing time photographing for “Portrat of the invisible “ in Iceland in 2009. I took my family on a road trip to the most remote places of the island and photographed in derelict fishing factories, farms, churches, and theatres. My first daughter was only a few months old at the time, and she was strapped to her dad while he was assisting me, -sweetest photo assistant I’ve ever had.

Text: Tatevik Sargsyan

Images: Anja Niemi