Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff

Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff is one of the most influential photographic artists in Sweden. She is well-known for her carefully arranged images with a documentary visual expression, but her most recent body of work is based on already existing photos. Recurring themes are patriarchal structures, criminology, global capitalism, the subconscious and her deep interest in the photographic image. Several of her series of works have been inspired by crime-photography and her main sources include press and police archives. As of late, von Hausswolff has also been interested in the transition from analogue and digital photography and has worked with the very medium of photography itself and its tools of the trade. Different techniques have been used in this series: UV-print on acrylic glass, oil paint, fine art prints and metal print high definition on aluminium.

In 2021-2022, Moderna Museet in Stockholm presented an extensive mid-career retrospective of her work, accompanied by a catalogue, which then travelled to Moderna Museet in Malmö. In 2022, she was awarded the Prins Eugen Medal for outstanding artistic achievement.

Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff  (b. 1967, lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden) studied at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design and the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. She is a professor at Valand Academy at the University of Gothenburg. Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff represented Sweden in the Venice Bienniale of 1999 and her work has been the subject of three large mid-career retrospectives: at Magasin III (Stockholm, 2008), Hasselblad Foundation (Gothenburg, 2016) and Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Malmö, 2021-2022). Past institutional solo exhibitions include ARoS Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark; Magasin III Stockholm, Sweden; La Conservera, Murcia, Spain; and Statens Musem for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark. Her work is represented in the collections of Fotomuseum Winterthur, KIASMA Helsinki, SF MOMA San Fransisco, MCA Chicago, Moderna Museet Stockholm and The Solomon R Guggenheim Collection to name a few.