Fingernails

Elina Brotherus (Helsinki, Finland, 1972) is one of the most widely acclaimed European female photographers. She works in photography and video. Her early work dealt with personal yet universal experiences, the presence and absence of love. In her series “The New Painting” (2000-05), Elina probed the relation of photography to art history and found inspiration in the iconography of classical painting. In “Model Studies” (2002-08) and “Artist and her model” (2005-2011), she continued to explore the human figure within a landscape, and the gaze of an artist on his/her model. In her recent work “12 ans après” (2011-2012) and “Annonciation” (2009-2013) Elina returns to the autobiographical approach, although more distanced than in her youth. Definitely, she is a woman with a mission.