N. A. Vague

Born: 1981 in Berlin, Germany
Lives and Works: Munich, Germany

N. A. Vague (born in Berlin, Germany) is an artist who initially studied advertising and marketing.
Growing up in a creative household, N. A. Vague photographed, drew and collaged from early on. Before being brave enough to share her personal art with the world, she worked in a variety of jobs across the media industry, including at The Walt Disney Company, the TV Show “Big Brother” and the Carl Hanser Verlag.
After becoming a mother, N. A. Vague dropped everything (besides her son, of course) to pursue her passion of creating playful conceptual art with an emphasis on photography. Her works serve as witty and sometimes tongue-in-cheek commentaries on various aspects of popular culture, such as advertising imagery, social media, artificial intelligence, and how-to books.
In 2018 and 2019, N. A. Vague was subsequently shortlisted at the Sony World Photography Awards and her works were exhibited at The Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition 161. In 2020, she was declared the overall winner of the 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers, juried by Elizabeth Avedon, and also nominated for the 8. Merck-Preis. In 2023, works of her were part of an interactive installation at the Pavillon 333 of the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.
N. A. Vague lives in Munich, Germany.

Awards

  • 2024
    Athens Photo Festival, Shortlist, Open Call, Greece
  • 2023
    London International Creative Competition, Finalist, United Kingdom
  • 2023
    BBA One Shot Award, Nomination, Germany
  • 2022
    Tokyo International Foto Awards, Jury Top 5 Selection + Silver Medal, Japan
  • 2021
    BBA Photography Prize, Longlist, Germany
  • 2020
    8. Merck-Preis, Nomination, Germany
  • 2019
    14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women P, Overall Winner, Spain
  • 2019
    Athens Photo Festival, Shortlist, Open Call, Greece
  • 2019
    Sony World Photography Awards, Shortlist, Open Competition, United Kingdom
  • 2019
    Aesthetica Art Prize, Longlist, United Kingdom
  • 2018
    The Royal Photographic Society's IPE 161, Finalist, United Kingdom
  • 2018
    Photolucida Critical Mass, Top 200, United States
  • 2018
    Sony World Photography Awards, Shortlist, Open Competition, United Kingdom

Selected solo exhibitions

  • 2024
    #real #me #ad, Public Installation, Kaufingerstr. 26, Munich
  • 2020
    #real #me #ad & In Between, FotoNostrum Gallery, Barcelona

Selected group exhibitions

  • 2024
    Mitbringen.Mitnehmen, Galerie der Künstler*innen, Munich
  • 2024
    Micro Art Gallery, New Town Hall, Munich
  • 2023
    BBA Photography Prize, Kühlhaus, Berlin
  • 2023
    Contextualise by Der Greif, Pavillon 333, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
  • 2023
    Andy Warhol in Me / Pop Art, HAZEGALLERY, Berlin
  • 2021
    BBA Photography Prize at Berlin Photo Week, RAW Area, Berlin
  • 2020
    Darmstadt Photography Days, Designhaus, Darmstadt
  • 2019
    Sony World Photography Awards Traveling Exhibition, Worldwide
  • 2019
    Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition 161, HIP Festival, Hull
  • 2019
    Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition 161, Municipal Gallery, Dublin
  • 2019
    Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition 161, Royal Albert Hall, London
  • 2019
    Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Somerset House, London
  • 2019
    Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition 161, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham
  • 2019
    Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition, York Art Gallery, York
  • 2019
    Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition 161, Royal Photographic Society, Bristol
  • 2018
    Sony World Photography Awards Traveling Exhibition, Worldwide
  • 2018
    Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Somerset House, London

Bibliography

  • N. A. Vague, "How to Create a Million Dollar Artwork - The Effortless Way" N. A. Vague 2022
  • "Poetry" Shutter Hub Editions 2021
  • "14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award Exhibition Book" FotoNostrum 2020
  • "11th Darmstadt Photography Days Festival Catalogue" 2020
  • "Future Now 2019 - 100 Contemporary Artists from the Aesthetica Art Prize" Aesthetica Magazine 2019
  • "Sony World Photography Awards Book" 2019
  • "N. A. Vague - #real #me #ad", Square Magazine, Issue 1001 2019
  • "Sony World Photography Awards Book" 2018
  • N. A. Vague, "#real #me #ad", www.photomonitor.co.uk Photomonitor 2018
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