Vicki Katthagen
Vicki Katthagen is a photographic artist based in Gurambilbarra (Townsville), Queensland, whose practice explores the relationship between nature and humanity through macro botanical photography. Working at the intersection of observation and abstraction, she uses the camera to reveal details often overlooked, transforming familiar botanical subjects into contemplative studies of form, structure, and memory.
Holding a Bachelor of Photography from James Cook University and a Master of Arts (Photography) from the Photographic Studies College, Vicki’s research-informed practice examines how photographic processes can alter perception and deepen emotional engagement with the natural world. Central to her work is a philosophy of reduction, where the removal of visual information reveals hidden complexities and encourages slower, more reflective looking.
Vicki has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally, including in the United States, Spain, and South Africa. Her work has received recognition through numerous awards, including Winner of Works on Paper at the Townsville Art Society 70th Anniversary Exhibition and Competition, and has been featured in publications and exhibitions including Dodho Magazine’s Fine Art Photography Annual and Australia’s Top Emerging Photographers. Alongside her artistic practice, she contributes to the arts sector as a grants assessor, arts committee member, and most recently as judge for the Kimberly Art and Photographic Prize.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Instagram: @vicki_k_photography
The black-and-white works from the Lightborne series investigate the hidden architecture of flowers through a process of visual reduction. By removing colour, the images shift attention away from the immediate sensory appeal of the botanical subject and towards its underlying structure, revealing intricate networks of veins, folds, textures, and forms that often go unnoticed.
Created through macro photography, these works position flowers as both physical specimens and metaphors for human experience. Enlarged beyond their familiar scale, they become landscapes of fragility and resilience, inviting viewers to consider themes of growth, ageing, memory, and transformation. The monochromatic palette further removes the work from straightforward botanical documentation, encouraging contemplation rather than identification.
At the core of Lightborne is an interest in how photography can reveal what is ordinarily unseen. Through close observation and abstraction, the series creates a space for personal interpretation, allowing viewers to bring their own experiences and emotions to the work. In doing so, the images seek to foster a deeper connection between humanity and the natural world, not through representation alone, but through shared qualities of vulnerability, complexity, and endurance.
