Born (1989) into an artistic family in the Black Forest, Germany, Alma Haser is now based in London and the East coast. Specialising in carefully constructed portraiture influenced by her creativity and 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, using inventive paper-folding techniques to create layers of intrigue around her subjects, manipulating their portraits into futuristic flattened-paper sculptures. Her paper-craft skills have also led her to move into creating delicate models of small animals.
Shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in 2012 for her piece 'The Ventriloquist', a portrait of two childhood friends, Alma has gone on to win third place at the 2012 Foto8 Summer Show and then the Magenta Foundation's Bright Spark Award in 2013 for her 'Cosmic Surgery; series. Her work has been exhibited worldwide.
Exhibitions
2017 Cosmic Surgery, Paper, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, June/October
2017 Selfie to Self-Expression, Saatchi Gallery, London, March-May
2017 AIPAD, De Soto Gallery/The Photographers Gallery, New York, Pier 39, March/April
2016 PULSE Miami Beach, De Soto Gallery, Miami, December
2016 Cosmic Surgery, De Soto Gallery, L.A., November
2016 Cosmic Surgery 3D Portraits, UNSEEN, Amsterdam, September
2016 Cosmic Surgery, The Photographers' Gallery, Print Sales and Book shop, July
2016 Cosmic Surgery, Retina Festival, Edinburgh, July
2015 Cosmic Surgery, Fort Worth Contemporary Arts Gallery, Texas, October
2015 Cosmic Surgery, QSS Gallery, Belfast Photo Festival, Ireland, June
2015 Dear Sylvia, Australia Centre of Photography, Paddington, Australia, February
2014 Affordable Art Fair NYC, Eye Buy Art Gallery, New York, September
2014 Clerkenwell Design Week with Strange Beast, Breese Little Gallery, London, May
2014 A Year in Development, Four Corners Galler, London, April
2014 Flash Forward Festival, Fairmont Battery Wharf, Boston, May
2014 uP, The Foundation [taf], Athens, Greece, March
2014 Cosmic Surgery, Queensland Centre for Photography, Australia, January
2013 Magenta Foundation, Photofusion, London, October
2013 Magenta Foundation Awards, Neubacher Shor Contemporary, Toronto, October
2012 Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, M Shed, Bristol, July
2012 MAKE/SHIFT, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, July
2012 Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London, Novemeber
2012 f/22, PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin, Ireland, July
2012 Foto8 Summer Show, Foto8 Gallery, London, July
2012 The London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, London, January
2011 Shut Up And Shoot, Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA, July
2011 Guernsey Photography Festival, as part of Tim Andrews Portrait Project, June
2011 FotoMadrid, Madrid, Spain, May
2010 Head over Heals, New Brewery Arts, Cirencester, March
Awards
2016 Winner, PDN Photo Annual 2016, 'Eureka Effect'
2015 Honourable Mention, IPA Awards, 'Eureka Effect'
2015 Selected for Portrait Salon, 'Blue,' London
2015 First Prize, 'The Eureka Effect' PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris
2015 'Cosmic Surgery' Book Nominated for LUMA Dummy Book Awards Arles, France
2014 Nominated as the 'One to Watch' 2014 by D&AD
2013 Selected for the International Photography Annual 2, Manifest
2013 Magenta Foundation 'Bright Spark' Award Winner
2013 Selected for the Art of Photography Show
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
2011 Finalist for the One Life, Artists Wanted
2011 Selected for the Brighton Photo Fringe Open '11 Text Project
Books
2016 Self-Published 'Cosmic Surgery' (edition of 600)
2015 Self-Published Dummy Edition of 'Cosmic Surgery' (pop-up photo book, edition of 10)