Graduate shortlisted for Photo London x Hahnemühle Student Award

Nina brings a diverse international perspective to her practice, having spent nearly 20 years living in Paris, Madrid, the French Riviera and Helsinki before returning to Lapland. Her work often focuses on human-nature relationships, climate change, and cultural shifts in Arctic communities; themes that she approaches through a human-centred and community-driven lens. 

Reflecting on her work being shortlisted, Nina said: “Usva combines my own photographs with discovered family archives to question the extent to which places shape our identities and values, while exploring the passage of time and memory. The project grew from a personal experience - a way to process grief and let go. Places hold stories, and within them, memories. This layered narrative was mostly photographed in Lapland, near the Arctic Circle, to honour our family’s place that was once so central to me.”

“Being shortlisted and having the opportunity to exhibit Usva at Photo London, in collaboration with Hahnemühle, is incredibly rewarding. I’m grateful to my tutor, Wendy McMurdo, whose insight and encouragement helped me shape this series. Looking ahead, I’m excited about new opportunities for creative collaboration and will continue developing this project into a book format.”