The Swedish photographer, based in Stockholm, uses her radical and sensual, poetic and humorous eye in her compositions, which are fueled by the whole aesthetic of nostalgia.
Voluptuous women, post-punk fashion, muscle cars, collages, cinematographic settings, snapshots, nudity… Everything comes together in a play of light, artistic blur and intense, matte colors. Ninja Hanna’s pictures clearly claim to be vintage culture, where art, fashion, and pop culture express their multiple facets at all social levels. But there is also a backdrop of counterculture, Russ Meyer’s cinema, and even Grindhouse imagery.
Her body of work thus anchors nostalgia in a present that is both fascinating and disturbing, and which has become the means of expressing her individuality. Originally from Gävle, a small town in northern Sweden, the 30-year-old artist aspired to become a painter as a child before embarking on a career in fashion photography. She went through a radical adolescence, nourished by underground culture, and has since developed a keen sense of narrative and composition in the creation of images, with a zest for sarcastic humor.
Reinventing the past
From her recent series, Swingin to Looks like Grace, Faster Pussy Cats, and Day At The Tracks, her portfolio has developed a distinctive, expressive, and remarkable aesthetic, tinged with nostalgia but without the fuss. Ninja Hanna claims to be a ‘nostalgic woman,’ even for a past she never lived through.
Her images are a constant reinvention of key moments from her youth. She says she often scours thrift stores and flea markets for vintage fashion magazines and old issues of Playboy from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
She admits she still has a “crush on Pamela Anderson,” with whom she would love to do a photo shoot.
She also draws inspiration from music videos and films from the 90s (her era), but she mainly gets her ideas from her daily life, walking around and meeting people.
Today, her work is divided between commissions, editorials, and personal projects with a wide portfolio of clients, such as Acne, Sony Music, and H&M, thus highlighting her timeless, colorful, and stylish universe.
Stockholm – Sweden
“Swingin” series
Photography / Art direction / Graphic design: Ninja Hanna
Make Up Johanna Nordlander / LinkDetails
Hair Kai Collective – Sofia Geideby, Annie Ankersvik, Hillewi Gottfridsson Kassab
Models Cinzia Chang / Fanny Chougoi Eriksson / Filippa Järnebratt – Mikas
“Looks Like Grace” series
Photography: Ninja Hanna
Styling Maria Barsoum / LinkDetails
Hair Karolina Liedberg / LinkDetails
Make Up Josefina Zarmen / LinkDetails
Models Caroline B & Ivy / Mikas
“Faster Pussy Cats” Series
Photography: Ninja Hanna
Styling: Natalie Olenheim / Rockson
Make Up: Ignacio Alonso / LundLund
Hair: Philip Fohlin / LinkDetails
Models: Caroline Eriksson / NischManagement – Jennifer Berg Pinyojit/ Mikas – Maryam / 3rd Space Management
Nathalie Dassa