Join us for an informal chat with Jess about their innovative, environmentally conscious work and find out what they might get up to during their year at the University of Stirling.
Jess will be working with the Art Collection during the themed year of Art & Science, with a particular focus on research about and inspired by water. It’s an exciting time to meet Jess as it will be their first week in Stirling.
About Jess
Jess Holdengarde (b.1991) is a lens-based artist from South Africa, currently living and working on the Isle of Lewis and in Glasgow, Scotland. Their multifaceted practice explores photography’s role in responding to environmental, social, and economic crises, emphasising how image-making can foster both resistance and hope. Using plant-based darkroom techniques, foraged materials, and site-specific methods, Holdengarde works across photography, writing, sound, and moving images to develop sustainable approaches to making. Their work has been exhibited internationally in Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the UK. In 2024, they were the recipient of the Verzasca Foto Artist in Residence programme in Switzerland, and had their first major UK solo exhibition, Glimmer, at the Stills Centre for Photography in Edinburgh. Central to their process are foraging, recording, and immersing themselves in the surrounding landscape. They approach the analogue darkroom as a site of alchemy and performance—where light, silver, and organic matter collide to create images of transformation. Through these tactile, sustainable methods, Holdengarde embeds the physical environment directly into their work, cultivating a deep dialogue between place and practice.
In 2025, Holdengarde is also co-leading a year-long Creative Scotland-funded project with Mhairi Law at Island Darkroom. The project aims to develop a sustainable incubator for analogue lens-based practices in Scotland and beyond, with a focus on artist support and rural, research-led creative development. This collaboration reflects Holdengarde’s commitment to ecological, social and creative responsibility, alongside their ongoing efforts to support opportunities for collective learning, experimentation, and resilience within the Scottish arts sector.
www. Jessholdengarde.com
@jess_holdengarde
