Is humanity a parasite on the planet, or an extraordinary species? With her third solo exhibition at Dorothée Nilsson Gallery, Shadow Works, Living the Dream, Swedish artist Martina Hoogland Ivanow poses this burning existential question. Bringing together a new selection from her thirty-year photographic archive, recent films, and site-specific installations, the show places the complex and contradictory aspects of contemporary life under a microscope.
While studying at Parsons School in New York, Ivanow began experimenting with where the eye travels in search of light. “You’re drawn to the brightest point,” she says, “and then in the darkness you find other things, creating narratives that are surreal and terrifying.” Shadow, the central axis of her practice, is, in her words, “always in the wrong place or the least expected place.”
In her work, Ivanow explores the inconsistencies of our capitalist society and the fragility of human life. Patterns of behaviour, whether ways of coping with climate change or the social impact of technological progress, inspire her latest pieces. She believes humans are “a benign species” that knows what it should do yet is incapable of doing it: “We are parasites of the earth. But we are also extraordinary.”
This conviction shapes Ivanow’s visual language: working with analogue photography and darkroom techniques, she manipulates shadows, exaggerating the opacity or transparency of the negative to create the possibility of absence. “The camera usually captures more information than the human eye can register,” she explains, “so I explore the possibility of showing less.” This philosophy is embodied in the exhibition title *Shadow Works, Living the Dream, a multi-layered experience that reflects both irrational currents and the ways we play with identity.
The exhibition is accompanied by a new book published by Livraison Books that surveys thirty years of her photographic journey. On 13 December, the artist will hold a book launch and conversation with activist and educator Adam Broomberg.
Exhibition Information
Artist: Martina Hoogland Ivanow
Title: Shadow Works, Living the Dream
Venue: Dorothée Nilsson Gallery, Potsdamer Strasse 65, Berlin
Dates: 22 November 2025 – 31 January 2026
Event: Book launch and talk with Martina Hoogland Ivanow and Adam Broomberg, 13 December, 17:00
