Kristin Sjaarda

Kristin Sjaarda employs photography as her choice medium through which to investigate the intricacies of the urban ecosystem. Influenced by the style and content of still-life paintings from the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, Sjaarda’s photographic adaptations present larger-than life sized botanical arrangements of local flora and fauna with high-contrast lighting and amplified depth of visual clarity.

The layered integration of historical influences with contemporary reinterpretations present as a particularly compelling feature of Sjaarda’s work. Her reimagining of the philosophical underpinnings of vanitas still life suggest more than a symbolic reminder of the inherent transience of human mortality, but rather look farther outward – an admonition to respect and preserve the ecosystem and environment at large that supports human existence itself.

Kristin Sjaarda holds an Associate of Applied Sciences degree in Photography from the Colorado Institute of Art, USA. Her works have been shown in numerous public presentations in Canada including exhibition at the Gladstone Hotel, Namara Projects, and First Canadian Place in Toronto, Robertson Ares Gallery in Montreal, and international art fairs in Germany and the United States. Sjaarda’s works may also be found in private collections in Canada, the United States, and Europe.