Rosa Canina, 2021
Rosa Canina borrows its title from the name of the dog rose, a tough and thorny plant rumoured to be used by witches. It offers new representations of the female body and bodily experience, from a feminist perspective and a female gaze, while the accompanying still lives draw a parallel between the exploitation of women’s bodies and that of nature.
Resilientia, 2019
For her series Resilientia, Mathilda Olmi followed during a year the life of two Swiss farmers in the Rhône Valley, who are tending to a permaculture garden-forest, aiming to produce a resilient ecosystem without draining its resources. Resilientia suggests alternatives and possible new models for our relation to our environment and for food production.
Mathilda Olmi
Mathilda Olmi (*1991) is a photographer based in Lausanne, where she develops personal projects and is active as a portrait photographer for the media and cultural institutions. Her work as an artist is articulated around issues relating to ecology, agriculture and feminism. It often deals with
the position of women in Western society and the representation of femininity, intimacy, home
and maternity. She harnesses lyricism and poetry to portray political issues and positions, and to
counter the violence of the world with a sense of wonder.
the position of women in Western society and the representation of femininity, intimacy, home
and maternity. She harnesses lyricism and poetry to portray political issues and positions, and to
counter the violence of the world with a sense of wonder.
She graduated from the Vevey School of Photography (CEPV) in 2015. Her work has been exhibited regularly, primarily in Switzerland, since 2014. It has been part of group shows at Musée d’art de
Pullys (Switzerland, 2023), Festival Images (Vevey, 2014 & 2020), Photo Elysée (Lausanne, 2022),
Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin, 2023), Ferme-Asile (Sion, Switzerland, 2021), Photoforum Pasquart
(Biel, Switzerland, 2015), Verzasca Foto Festival (Switzerland, 2021) and Festival international de
mode, de photographie et d’accessoires (Hyères, France, 2022), among others. She has had three
solo shows in Lausanne, in a gallery and two independent art spaces, between 2015 and 2022. Her
work is part of the collection of Photo Elysée (Lausanne). She has published two monographs with
the French publishing house FP&CF: A bird in the hand in 2017 and most recently Rosa Canina in
2022. She was selected for the Enquête photographique valaisanne [photography survey of the Canton Valais] in 2021 and was awarded a grant for emerging artists by Pro Helvetia in 2020.
Pullys (Switzerland, 2023), Festival Images (Vevey, 2014 & 2020), Photo Elysée (Lausanne, 2022),
Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin, 2023), Ferme-Asile (Sion, Switzerland, 2021), Photoforum Pasquart
(Biel, Switzerland, 2015), Verzasca Foto Festival (Switzerland, 2021) and Festival international de
mode, de photographie et d’accessoires (Hyères, France, 2022), among others. She has had three
solo shows in Lausanne, in a gallery and two independent art spaces, between 2015 and 2022. Her
work is part of the collection of Photo Elysée (Lausanne). She has published two monographs with
the French publishing house FP&CF: A bird in the hand in 2017 and most recently Rosa Canina in
2022. She was selected for the Enquête photographique valaisanne [photography survey of the Canton Valais] in 2021 and was awarded a grant for emerging artists by Pro Helvetia in 2020.
Mathilda Olmi uses the pronouns she/her.
Location
Lausanne, Vaud
Contact
Awards
- 2024Selected by Centre de la Photographie Genève for FUTURES
- 2022Finalist of the Photography Contest, Hyères
- Finalist of the Prix Jeunes Talents (Vfg Nachwuchsförderpreis), 2ème prix
- 2020Promotion de la relève en photographie, Pro Helvetia
Exhibitions
- 2024‘Ecotones‘, Collectif MALM, La Grange-UNIL, Lausanne
- 2023Construct your stories 3, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
- ‘Prix Photoforum‘, Photoforum Pasqu’Art, Bienne
- 2022‘Rosa Canina‘, Galerie Strates, Lausanne
- 37e édition du Festival de Mode, de Photographie et d’Accessoires, Villa Noailles, Hyères
- Concours jeunes talents VFG, Haus der Fotografie, Olten
- Le génie du lieu, La Pharmacie, Lausanne
- 2021Enquête photographique valaisanne (EQ2), Ferme-Asile, Sion
- Le lieu de nous où toute chose se dénoue, Galerie C, Neuchâtel
- Matters of touch, Verzasca Foto Festival, Val Verzasca
- 2020Drôles de rires, Musée de Bagnes, Le Châble
- Des seins à dessein, Espace Arlaud, Lausanne
- 2019Entre la Poire et le fromage, PALP Festival, Bruson
- 2018‘L’heure bleue’, La Placette, Lausanne
- 2015‘Coping with Distance’, Photoforum Pasqu’Art, Biel
- ‘L’Embellie’, Forma Art Contemporain, Lausanne
- 2014‘Hordes et Nuées’, Espace Doret (CEPV), Festival Images, Vevey
Publications
- 2021Olmi Mathilda, ‘Rosa Canina‘, Editions FP&CF
- 2017Olmi Mathilda, ‘A bird in the hand’, Editions FP&CF
- 2015Olmi Mathilda, ‘Left a wake’, diploma project
- Olmi Mathilda, ‘Northern Lights’, diploma project
Awards
- 2024Selected by Centre de la Photographie Genève for FUTURES
- 2022Finalist of the Photography Contest, Hyères
- Finalist of the Prix Jeunes Talents (Vfg Nachwuchsförderpreis), 2ème prix
- 2020Promotion de la relève en photographie, Pro Helvetia
Exhibitions
- 2024‘Ecotones‘, Collectif MALM, La Grange-UNIL, Lausanne
- 2023Construct your stories 3, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
- ‘Prix Photoforum‘, Photoforum Pasqu’Art, Bienne
- 2022‘Rosa Canina‘, Galerie Strates, Lausanne
- 37e édition du Festival de Mode, de Photographie et d’Accessoires, Villa Noailles, Hyères
- Concours jeunes talents VFG, Haus der Fotografie, Olten
- Le génie du lieu, La Pharmacie, Lausanne
- 2021Enquête photographique valaisanne (EQ2), Ferme-Asile, Sion
- Le lieu de nous où toute chose se dénoue, Galerie C, Neuchâtel
- Matters of touch, Verzasca Foto Festival, Val Verzasca
- 2020Drôles de rires, Musée de Bagnes, Le Châble
- Des seins à dessein, Espace Arlaud, Lausanne
- 2019Entre la Poire et le fromage, PALP Festival, Bruson
- 2018‘L’heure bleue’, La Placette, Lausanne
- 2015‘Coping with Distance’, Photoforum Pasqu’Art, Biel
- ‘L’Embellie’, Forma Art Contemporain, Lausanne
- 2014‘Hordes et Nuées’, Espace Doret (CEPV), Festival Images, Vevey
Publications
- 2021Olmi Mathilda, ‘Rosa Canina‘, Editions FP&CF
- 2017Olmi Mathilda, ‘A bird in the hand’, Editions FP&CF
- 2015Olmi Mathilda, ‘Left a wake’, diploma project
- Olmi Mathilda, ‘Northern Lights’, diploma project