Anja Niemi (b. 1976, Norway) always works alone; placing herself within her own meticulous tableaux, she constructs fictional stories where she is both the author and the character. In Darlene & Me (2014), Niemi plays the parts of two identical women living against the backdrop of a sparse, bleached house in the desert. The dualism in each performative photograph speaks clearly of the internal, and often opposing, voices we are all so attune with. In this way, as with all of her work, Niemi appeals to ideas that are innate to the human condition, rather than being confined to a personal mediation. And whilst her poetic narratives are wholly imagined (although frequently inspired by film and literature), they act as an intimate space to catalyse real conversations about identity, conformity and the relationship we have with ourselves.
Anja Niemi studied at the London College of Printing and Parsons School of Design in Paris and New York and has exhibited in galleries worldwide. Three previous monographs of her work have been published, Photographing in Costume (Little Black Gallery, 2015), Short Stories (Jane & Jeremy, 2016), The Woman Who Never Existed (Jane & Jeremy, 2017). The poem by Lena Niemi is an excerpt from a longer text in the new monograph accompanying the exhibition titled She Could Have Been A Cowboy (Jane & Jeremy, 2018). Her work has been published in Firecrackers: Female Photographers Now (Thames & Hudson, 2017), and her image The Garden Hose was selected for the volume 1001 Photographs You Must See Before You Die (Cassell, 2017).
Anja Niemi studied at the London College of Printing and Parsons School of Design in Paris and New York and has exhibited in galleries worldwide. Three previous monographs of her work have been published, Photographing in Costume (Little Black Gallery, 2015), Short Stories (Jane & Jeremy, 2016), The Woman Who Never Existed (Jane & Jeremy, 2017). The poem by Lena Niemi is an excerpt from a longer text in the new monograph accompanying the exhibition titled She Could Have Been A Cowboy (Jane & Jeremy, 2018). Her work has been published in Firecrackers: Female Photographers Now (Thames & Hudson, 2017), and her image The Garden Hose was selected for the volume 1001 Photographs You Must See Before You Die (Cassell, 2017).
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EQUINE by Massimo Leardini
An inside into the production of Anja Niemis The Rider Vol. 1, August 2021
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EXHIBITIONS
2019 IN CHARACTER, FOTOGRAFISKA, Stockholm
2018 SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, AIPAD / Photography Show, New York
CIRCUS ACTS, MUSEE DES ARTS DECORATIFS with IDEAT Magazine, Paris
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, Photo London
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, PhotoFairs Shanghai
2017 THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, PhotoFairs San Francisco
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, Shoot Gallery, Oslo
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, Galerie Photo 12, Paris
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, The Little Black Gallery, London
2016 PHOTOGRAPHING IN COSTUME, The Little Black Gallery, New York
SHORT STORIES, Photo London
SHORT STORIES, The Little Black Gallery, London
PHOTOGRAPHING IN COSTUME, Salon Zurcher, New York
2015 DARLENE & ME, The Little Black Gallery, London
DARLENE & ME, Photo London
2013 STARLETS, The Little Black Gallery, London
2012 DO NOT DISTURB, The Little Black Gallery, London
PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Hudson Bay Company Global Art Collection, USA
Nion McEvoy Collection, USA
Oslo City Council, Norway
Susanna von Meiss Collection, Switzerland
BOOKS
2019 In Character (Thames & Hudson)
2018 She Could Have Been A Cowboy (Jane & Jeremy)
2017 The Woman Who Never Existed (Jane & Jeremy)
2016 Short Stories (Jane & Jeremy)
2015 Photographing In Costume (The Little Black Gallery)
Also featured in:
2017 Firecrackers: Female Photographers Now (Thames & Hudson)
2017 1001 Photographs You Must See Before You Die (Cassell)
2019 IN CHARACTER, FOTOGRAFISKA, Stockholm
2018 SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, AIPAD / Photography Show, New York
CIRCUS ACTS, MUSEE DES ARTS DECORATIFS with IDEAT Magazine, Paris
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, Photo London
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam
SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, PhotoFairs Shanghai
2017 THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, PhotoFairs San Francisco
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, Shoot Gallery, Oslo
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, Galerie Photo 12, Paris
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED, The Little Black Gallery, London
2016 PHOTOGRAPHING IN COSTUME, The Little Black Gallery, New York
SHORT STORIES, Photo London
SHORT STORIES, The Little Black Gallery, London
PHOTOGRAPHING IN COSTUME, Salon Zurcher, New York
2015 DARLENE & ME, The Little Black Gallery, London
DARLENE & ME, Photo London
2013 STARLETS, The Little Black Gallery, London
2012 DO NOT DISTURB, The Little Black Gallery, London
PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Hudson Bay Company Global Art Collection, USA
Nion McEvoy Collection, USA
Oslo City Council, Norway
Susanna von Meiss Collection, Switzerland
BOOKS
2019 In Character (Thames & Hudson)
2018 She Could Have Been A Cowboy (Jane & Jeremy)
2017 The Woman Who Never Existed (Jane & Jeremy)
2016 Short Stories (Jane & Jeremy)
2015 Photographing In Costume (The Little Black Gallery)
Also featured in:
2017 Firecrackers: Female Photographers Now (Thames & Hudson)
2017 1001 Photographs You Must See Before You Die (Cassell)
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