Material traces of a changing Arctic: Welcome Aindreas Scholz

We are pleased to welcome photographer Aindreas Scholz to Artica Svalbard for a residency during July and August 2026.

Aindreas Scholz is a German–Irish photographer based in London whose practice explores sustainable and cameraless photographic processes. Working at the intersection of photography, ecology and material experimentation, he collaborates with sunlight, water chemistry and plant matter to create images shaped directly by environmental conditions. Inviting rain, seawater, salinity and disturbed soils to leave their mark on the photographic surface, his works exist between aesthetics and evidence—material traces of place, contamination and environmental change.

Scholz studied photography at Technological University Dublin before completing postgraduate study in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. His work has been exhibited widely across the UK and Europe, and has been supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Mellon Centre. Alongside his studio practice, he lectures and leads workshops on sustainable analogue photography, exploring how photographic processes can become more environmentally responsible.

During his residency at Artica Svalbard, Scholz will develop a new body of cameraless photographic work in direct response to the Arctic environment as both subject and material collaborator. Focusing on retreating glaciers, meltwater, exposed geology and the shifting threshold between ice, sea and human infrastructure, he will experiment with field-based photographic processes using sunlight, locally gathered water and naturally occurring traces of place. Working slowly and responsively to the landscape, he will create prints that allow the chemistry, weather and changing conditions of Svalbard to physically shape the image itself.

Alongside the photographic work, Scholz will keep a visual field diary documenting the environmental conditions, locations and material processes behind each piece. Together, these works will explore how photography can move beyond representing environmental change to becoming a record of direct collaboration with a rapidly changing landscape.

During his residency, Aindreas will also lead a community workshop introducing sustainable analogue photographic processes. Further details will be announced soon.