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- 2015 (Creation)
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1 item
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Portrait of Gunnar Stefánsson, fisherman and inhabitant of Vestmannaeyjar, at his home. Portrait format. Signed on the reverse by the artist.
One of seven archival giclée prints of photographs which form a series called ‘Where the Land Rises’, produced using medium format and digital negatives. Photographed by Glasgow School of Art alumnus Peter Holliday in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland during the spring of 2015. Several of the prints were originally made for the 2015 Glasgow School of Art Degree Show.
‘Where the Land Rises’ explores the complex interrelations between humankind and nature set against the unpredictable terrain of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in southern Iceland. Investigating themes of absence and remembrance, I examine the volcanic eruption of Eldfell on the island of Heimaey in 1973, reflecting on how this sudden and unexpected trauma to the order of existence irreversibly transformed both the island’s topography and the collective psyche of the people who call it home. ‘Where the Land Rises’ ultimately considers the perception of the landscapes that surround us, and perhaps more significantly, how the changing environments we inhabit shape the human situation.
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Biographical history
Peter Holliday is a Nordic-based photographer recognised for his northerly landscapes and Arctic views. With a concern for the lands and waters to which human life is fated, Peter’s boreal scenes explore the multivalences of place, situating motifs of journeying, co-existence and being at home.
Upon graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 2015, Peter was invited to exhibit his work at the Reykjavík Museum of Photography before being nominated for the Magnum Photos Graduate Photographers Award 2016. In 2018 he was granted a commission with the British Journal of Photography to document the edges of the Danish capital.
In 2022 Peter earned his MA in Photography from Aalto University in Helsinki. During the same summer, he was an artist-in-residence aboard The Arctic Circle expeditionary residency program in Svalbard. He then walked alone through Swedish and Norwegian Lapland to gather pictures for his series A Path in the Snow.
Having been exhibited internationally, Peter is also known for his commissions. With clients such as the BBC, British Airways, COS, Vice and VisitCopenhagen, his work has been published in the British Journal of Photography, the Financial Times and Wired.
Archival history
Exhibited as part of a solo exhibition at the Reykjavík Museum of Photography, Iceland during the winter of 2015-16.
Custodial history
Donated by Peter Holliday, Dec 2022.
Physical Description and Conditions of Use
Conditions governing access
Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections are open for research by appointment. For further details, please refer to our Access Policy @ https://gsaarchives.net/policies
Conditions governing reproduction
Application for permission to reproduce should be submitted to The Archives and Collections at The Glasgow School of Art.
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of material.
For further details, please refer to our Reprographic Service Guide @ https://gsaarchives.net/policies
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Physical Description
Archival giclée print.
Dimensions: 560 x 400 mm
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Catalogued by Michelle Kaye, Collections Lead, Dec 2024.
Language(s)
- English