Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2016, Page 48

Representing Iceland
at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017:
i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
EGILL
SÆBJÖRNSSON
Art Emerging48The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2016
Katrín Braga is an Icelandic pho-
tographer based in Vancouver. She
started experimenting with film
photography in secondary school,
garnering attention for her colour-
ful portraits of women. Katrín has
since had her work published in
publications such as Teen Vogue,
VICE, Dazed, Indie Magazine, The
Wild Magazine and Bullett Media.

When did you start taking
photographs?
I accidentally found my father's
old film camera when I was clean-
ing the storage room of my house;
I was around fifteen or sixteen
years old. I bought some film rolls
for it and haven’t stopped shooting
since. What attracted me the most
to photography back then was that
I could document my life visually
and have a creative outlet.

What is your creative process?
My creative process is always dif-
ferent, so it’s very hard for me to
pin that down. I try to work closely
with the people I collaborate with
so that everyone can have their
creative input in the project. Pho-
toshoots are a collaboration and I
couldn’t create beautiful imagery
without the talented people I work
with.
What inspires you?
Strong female personalities, es-
pecially the women who are clos-
est to me. The women I surround
myself with inspire me the most.
My goals now are to create some-
thing valuable and to feel connect-
ed with other people through my
work. I shoot mostly women and
I try to make them look and feel
strong and empowered. I’ve heard
so many stories from models who
have felt really uncomfortable on
set—who have been undermined
in front of the camera. Some
photographers take advantage of
young models, which is horrible.
My goal is to do the exact opposite.

What is your favorite artwork, by
you and/or another artist?
I’m obsessed with Alphonse Mucha
and his “flowers” series. He paints
mostly women wearing beautiful
kimonos and dresses, and sur-
rounds the subject with flowers
and plants.

How is it being an artist in Iceland?
Being an artist in Iceland is defi-
nitely different than being an art-
ist in Vancouver. In Iceland, there's
an endless supply of creative and
talented people but not enough
resources to make a living out of
it, especially in photography. In
Vancouver, it’s easier to find work
in your field, but it’s harder to find
people that want to collaborate or
work with you—you really have to
go out of your way to find them.
Vancouver also has an easier way
of living and it's warm, while Ice-
land can be very cold and dark, so
you have to work on creative things
in order to not get depressed.
Future plans?
I recently began branching out
into directing short documenta-
ries and I find that process very in-
teresting. It’s something I want to
do more of in the future. My first
short documentary explores the
life of my grandfather, an ex-farm-
er and postman who has never left
rural Iceland. In the film he dis-
cusses his father’s sixty-eight-year
streak of daily diary entries, end-
ing when he passed away in 1996.
SHARE + MORE PICS:
gpv.is/am9
Katrín Braga
Words HREFNA BJÖRG GYLFADÓTTIR
Katrin by Berkley Vopnfjord
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