Alma Haser

Born in 1989 into an artistic family in the Black Forest, Germany, Alma Haser is now based in London and on the southeast coast. She is known for her complex and meticulously constructed portraiture, which are influenced by her creativity and her background in fine art. Alma creates striking work that catches the eye and captivates the mind.

Expanding the dimensions of traditional portrait photography, Alma takes her photographs further by using inventive paper-folding techniques, collage and mixed media to create layers of intrigue around her subjects; manipulating her portraits into futuristic paper sculptures and blurring the distinctions between two-dimensional and three-dimensional imagery.

Alma has won many awards for her work, including Magenta Foundation's Bright Spark Award in 2013 for her Cosmic Surgery series (also the basis of a successful self-published book project). Her piece The Ventriloquist was shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in 2012. Alma also won the PDN Photo Annual Award in 2016 for her Eureka Effect series. Her work has been exhibited worldwide and recent venues have included the 2017 Saatchi Gallery show From Selfie to Self-Expression. Examples of her work are currently on show at the Now Gallery in Greenwich, London.

Alma’s current projects include the Twin Puzzle series, delving into her fascination with identical twins, their genetics and how to distinguish them. She’s also been working on her Plant series; an exploration of what is real and what is manufactured, through using her unique paper collage and re-photographing techniques.

Solo Exhibitions
2019   Cosmic Surgery, The SPAO Gallery, Canada

2017    Within 15 Minuets and Cosmic Surgery, 7 Trinity Gallery, Hastings

2016    Cosmic Surgery, De Soto Gallery, L.A.

2016    Cosmic Surgery, Print Sales Gallery, The Photographers' Gallery, London

Selected Group Exhibitions
2019   Pseudo, Belfast Photo Festival, Ireland

2019   Cosmic Surgery, Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography, Switzerland

2019   Pseudo and Within 15 Minuets, Photo London

2018    Work in Process, Print Sales Gallery, The Photographers' Gallery, London

2018    Circulation(s) Festival, Centquatre, Paris

2017    Body Image, NOW Gallery, Greenwich, London

2017    Paper, CODA Museum, Apledoorn, Netherlands

2017    Selfie to Self-Expression, Saatchi Gallery, London

2017    AIPAD, De Soto Gallery/The Photographers Gallery, New York

2016    PULSE Miami Beach, De Soto Gallery, Miami

2016    UNSEEN, The Photographers Gallery, Amsterdam

2016    Retina Festival, Edinburgh

2015    Fort Worth Contemporary Arts Gallery, Texas

2015    Dear Sylvia, Australia Centre of Photography, Paddington, Australia

2014    A Year in Development, Four Corners Gallery, London

2014    Flash Forward Festival, Fairmont Battery Wharf, Boston

2014    uP, The Foundation [taf], Athens, Greece

2013    Magenta Foundation Awards, Neubacher Shor Contemporary, Toronto

2012    Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, M Shed, Bristol

2012    MAKE/SHIFT, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth

2012    Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London

2012    f/22, PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin

2012    Foto8 Summer Show, Foto8 Gallery, London

2011    Guernsey Photography Festival, Tim Andrews Portrait Project, Guernsey

2011    FotoMadrid, Madrid, Spain

Awards
2019   Shortlisted for Arles Open Wall, BJP, Arles, France

2017    Best in Book, 'Invisible Wounds,' Creative Review Photo Annual

2016    Winner, 'Eureka Effect', PDN Photo Annual

2015    Honourable Mention, 'Eureka Effect' IPA Awards

2015    First Prize, 'The Eureka Effect' PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris

2015    'Cosmic Surgery' Book Nominated for LUMA Dummy Book Awards Arles

2014    Nominated as the 'One to Watch' 2014 by D&AD

2013    Selected for the International Photography Annual 2, Manifest

2013    Winner, 'Cosmic Surgery', Magenta Foundation 'Bright Spark' Award

2012    Nominated for the Terry O'Neil TAG Award

2012    Forth Prize Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Award

2012    Third Prize People Choice, Foto8 Summer Show

Books
2016    Self-Published 'Cosmic Surgery' (edition of 600)

2015    Self-Published Dummy Edition of 'Cosmic Surgery' (pop-up photo book, edition of 10)