Kate Molenkamp

Kate Molenkamp

Photographer

Kate Molenkamp is a medium format and 35mm film photographer from Melbourne, Australia. Travel incites her to contemplate the human relationship to the natural landscape. With a shutter release, the dependency of the two is distilled into images. The viewer is left to reconcile a seemingly simple photograph.

The ten photographs below are a summary of a body of work currently in progress as she explores countries along the North Atlantic. One half Greenland, the other half Iceland. The two countries, one a part of the Kingdom of Denmark (Greenland) and one formerly (Iceland) are often correlated together, however their cultures and landscape differ immensely.

I don’t shoot a landscape very often that is completely pristine so to speak. There is always some evidence of the human ‘footprint’; a physical human element, interaction or occupation. This doesn’t have to be a tall sky scraper, simple structures such as a fenced off area affirms occupied land. I’m always looking for a point of where the natural and social landscapes meet. Greenland was particularly valuable to me in this sense. Only a small percentage of the land is sustainable for human life. It’s essentially a giant icy desert, but the vibrant human presence in places like Nuuk, which in present day is essentially (limited) plotted land was just fascinating to me. I feel that landscapes in general are sometimes brushed aside as simply an aesthetic but for me the social element and context adds depth and provokes further thought about occupied areas of our earth.

— Kate Molenkamp

All photographs (C) Kate Molenkamp, 2014

Kate’s portfolio website is under construction, but be sure to see more of her work on her photo blog.

Kate Molenkamp has degree in Photography (Arts) at RMIT University. Melbourne, Australia.   She focuses on documentary work while incorporating fine art principles in construction and composition.  Kate is currently finishing a series of work from South Korea and will soon head to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Brunei.