2026 Biennial
Return To The Mother
Return to the Mother is a photographic series by Nikita Gross that reveals the symbiotic relationship between women and the natural world. The work arises from the belief that the land continually offers healing, presence, and inspiration, and that creating art can serve as an offering in return. Each image is a gesture of reverence: to the land, the feminine spirit, and the unseen connections that bind them.
Rooted in Gross’ upbringing in the Ohio Valley, her work draws upon rivers, forests, rolling hills, and wild spaces that shaped her visual language and sense of spiritual ecology. The land is not backdrop but collaborator and guide, carrying a quiet magic that asks to be remembered. In her photographs, Gross seeks to reveal this presence through intimacy, stillness, and truth rather than spectacle.
Using analog and digital photography with natural light, Gross emphasizes attention and presence. The women she photographs are friends, artists, and local community members who are invited to examine their own connections to place. Return to the Mother honors reciprocity and wildness, reflecting the untamed spirit of both nature and the feminine. These photographs are accompanied by a video component that deepens the immersive experience and expands the dialogue between body, spirit, and landscape.
Nikita Gross, Symbiosis, 2024. Digital giclée print, 12 × 18 inches. Courtesy of the artist
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