Giita Hammond

I’m half Icelandic and half Irish, a mother of two boys, a visual artist and a natural light portrait photographer living in Dublin. I became interested in photography when I was 15 years old, experimenting and learning about photography in the darkroom at my secondary school in Reykjavík. A few years later I met my husband in Dublin and moved to Ireland. I graduated from IADT with a BA degree in Commercial Photography in 2005. Since then I have been working as a visual artist and portrait photographer, my work has been published in magazines and online. I also have my work exhibited in solo and group exhibitions.

My most recent exhibition titled Maureen is a personal and intimate project about my grandmother who is 91 years of age and lives on her own in Dublin. She was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago. I have been one of her carers for the past few years. During the last year and a half, I started documenting Maureen and her surroundings during my twice-weekly visits, with a mixture of portraits and interior details. There was an urgency in recording these moments. As time went on and her illness progressed, it became more and more important to treasure this time we have together and her trust in me to document it. These photos are expressions of love and respect for the grand mother, matriarch of my family.
This project was inspired by a project I did about my Icelandic grandmother Rannveig and her house, a project titled ‘Háholt’ that I exhibited in IADT in 2005. In completing these two grandmother projects I feel like I’ve come full circle, combining both sides of me - my Irish and Icelandic heritage.

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