Perfect Ambiguity

Berlin-based Swedish photographer and London College of Communication alumna Emma Hartvig (b. 1990) orchestrates carefully arranged and staged scenarios, exploring fragmented narratives inspired by cinema. Her arresting portfolio of enticing, often unexpected photographic compositions also hints at a tongue-in-cheek appraisal of the world of advertising. A picture-perfect surface seduces the viewer, momentarily masking the absurd elements that underpin each image, from bizarrely cropped alpine scenes to alluring, near-artificial edible arrangements. The photographs mimic a discordant sequence of film stills – the elisions compel the audience to conjure the missing frames in their imagination. Emma featured in Aesthetica’s Next Generation 2015 selection of promising young photographers and graduates of the London College of Communication. She has exhibited in London, New York, Amsterdam and Stockholm. www.emmahartvig.com.