Kaja Sigvalda

Kaja is a 28 year old visual artist from Akureyri, currently living in Reykjavík. She has a BA degree in anthropology from the University of Iceland and recently graduated from the School of Photography in Reykjavík. Kaja mainly works through the medium of photography. The subject of her work touches upon social and cultural issues  through personal perspective and research as well as interpretation of her own personal life, experiences and emotions.

Opened a whole world of creation.

Kaja explains to me “I‘ve always had interest in visual art forms. I started playing with cameras when I was a kid, using my parents‘ camera to take pictures of my family and in nature.  I seemed to have an eye for detail and a need to express myself and my thoughts through the visual media of photography. At 14 I saved up to buy my first real camera but since then photography has been one of my main hobbies. Yet, as much as I loved it I seemed to lack confidence in my own work.  It never quite occurred to me that I could actually become a photographer or a visual artist. It wasn‘t until I had finished the expected educational path and obtained a BA degree that I gained the confidence to enroll in the School of Photography. That opened a whole world of creation to me. I learned that photography is a much broader field than I realised at first. It is a medium within the arts where the camera is a tool to create and that creation cuts across any notions we may have about „proper“ execution or workmanship. It is all about colouring outside the lines to grasp intricate relationships and expressions in the world. My undergraduate degree in anthropology did come into play here. I have always been interested in human rights and an enthusiastic activist. That urge, coupled with my anthropology studies presented me with an opportunity to use photography as a research tool as well as a tool for advocacy and to enhance awareness about important issues that may have gone unnoticed”.

As Kaja mentions, she studied at The School of Photography, in Reykjavík, Iceland. She tells me that “although I had owned a camera for years, when I started school my technical background was lacking, so in that regard I was kind of a total beginner. Being in the creative environment of the school and in a class full of super talented people was a huge source of learning for me. We, the group of students, really pushed each other and grew from one another, but getting critique and feedback on one‘s work is such an important part of the learning process. I think one of the most valuable lessons I learned while studying there was that not everyone has to like what you create and that mistakes and doubt are a natural part of the creative process. When you create art you are so exposed and vulnerable. The idea of failing or not being good enough or cool enough stops a lot of people from going through the process of creating something or showing their art. But not everyone has to like what you make and its ok if you make mistakes. This is a growth process”.

Society still holds predetermined ideas about women who shave their hair off voluntarily.

Kajas final project for The Photography Schoold was named ‘Flækja’ or ‘Tangled’ in english. It was a multi medium project where she intertwined body hair with her photography, both figuratively and literally. I asked her how her interest was sparked in body hair. “It started when I went to a hair dresser with my waist-long hair and asked them to cut it to my shoulders. My instincts told me to keep the cut off hair instead of discarding it as my emotions towards it were somehow complex. After some time I used the 20 cm hairlocks in a project of mine. I froze them in blocks of ice and and took a picture of me holding the iceblock with the hair frozen inside. I was curious if a living part of you is still a part of you after it has been cut off your body? Subsequently I started making another project where I cut and dyed my hair every few weeks, ending with shaving it all off. I wanted to see how my hair influenced my self esteem. I‘ve always wanted to shave my hair off but I‘ve never had the courage to do so, I think deep inside it might have been me internalising norms and expectations of what female presenting individuals should or should not do to be validated within a patriarchal society. Even though the norms are slowly changing society still holds predetermined ideas about women who shave their hair off voluntarily”.

“I also did other experiments where I kept hair that I shaved off myself, kept nails that I cut and so on. My interest in this weird and often gross subject grew and I got more curious. After having reflected on my own hair I wanted to use other people‘s hair as well. I did loads of experiments; I photographed people‘s body hair in the studio, at my home and outside. I shaved people‘s hair, both on their body and head and photographed the process. These hairy undertakings became visual research which then grew into Tangled”.

“Some people said that the hairs evoked unpleasant feelings. They thought it was uncomfortable or gross to look at them, especially as they were sewn into (photographed) bodies. I find this really interesting. That is, I find it interesting how we tend to feel towards hair, nails or skin after they shed or are severed away from our bodies. When hair is a part of the body, still attatched to it, it is considered beautiful. Most people want healthy and well clipped nails, and shiny, clean hair. But when the hair or nails are cut off, all off a sudden they become repulsive and something that belongs in the the trash”.

Would like to explore body hair more and other body fluids.

Kaja says on her future projects and plans that she’s “trying to find a work space and studio to work in at the moment. I would love to be able to work on my own projects as well as taking photography gigs. I love exploring all sorts of photography. I would like to explore body hair more and other body fluids. I would also love to go further with a visual research project I did two years ago: Banvæn Brottvísun. Doing the project I went to Ásbrú and talked to people who have had to flee their home country and have sought asylum here in Iceland. It is one of the biggest humanitarian rights violation in the world and such an urgent matter in Iceland now. I would like to explore that subject further”. 

When I ask her what advice she might have for other young creatives, Kaja says “don‘t compare yourself to others. You don‘t have to be the best of the best, according to predetermined standards, to validate your being in the art world. Art and the creative field is full of different people doing different things. If you are a total beginner like I was and don‘t know where to start I would say start posting and sharing your art online and contacting other people to ask if they know of work/exhibition opportunities. It can sometimes be tricky to be an introvert in this field. One of the things I really had to learn: to be out there with being a photographer or an artist, like networking and posting things online. And also don‘t wait until you are in the „right place“, because I think most people agree that there is no right place or status, most people always doubt their work, at least a little bit”.

She then goes on to tell me about a book project she is working which is in collaboration between Hennar Rödd and Flóra. “I am doing the photography work for the book which will be published at the end of the year alongside a photography exhibition with the photos from the book. Then I have some smaller projects here and there and hopefully another exhibition later this year”.