Exhibition: CONTACT

CONTACT is a new solo exhibition by lens-based artist Jess Holdegarde. Developed during her year as the University of Stirling Artist in Residence.

During her residency, Holdegarde collaborated with researchers from the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair and FORTH2O to understand current research around the River Forth.

Throughout the exhibition photography becomes a point of stillness amidst the shifting states of water, light, and moving image. These grounded moments reveal spaces where the darkroom, filmmaking, scientific research, and the artist's desire to foreground the urgency of climate innovation coexist. It is a place where materiality and feeling intersect; where lenses, landscapes, and climate enquiry become intertwined; and where acts of looking become methods for understanding the world through curiosity, interdisciplinary exchange, and connection.

This exhibition of photography and 16mm film explores the embodied, in-process experience of making contact with lenses, light, water, landscape and Scotland's climate innovation projects, and how these encounters have shaped the process of image-making.

This exhibition marks the first time Holdegarde has explored a more documentary approach within her photography and filmmaking, using this shift in practice to attend closely to the people, processes, and landscapes encountered throughout the research.

Supported by Scotland Hydro Nation, Stills Centre for Photography and FORTH2O, with mentorship and support from LUX Scotland.

About Jess Holdegarde

Jess Holdegarde (b. 1991) is a South African lens-based artist living on the Isle of Lewis, with their studio based in Glasgow. Their work examines photography's role in responding to environmental, social, and economic crises, exploring how image-making can inspire critical reflection and hopeful action within the polycrisis.

Working across photography, writing, sound, and moving image, Holdegarde brings together experimental darkroom processes, site-specific methodologies, and embodied forms of inquiry, integrating queer methodologies and eco-conscious approaches throughout their work. Their projects often unfold through collective and collaborative processes, creating spaces for shared knowledge, experimentation, and dialogue.

Holdegarde has exhibited internationally across Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the UK. In 2024, they were awarded the Verzasca Foto Artist-in-Residence programme in Switzerland and presented their first major solo exhibition at Stills: Centre for Photography in Edinburgh. In 2025-26, they were selected as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Stirling and received support from the climate innovation and policy project FORTH20 to develop a new moving-image commission.

About the Year of Topography

The Art Collection aims to make art and culture a part of everyday life for staff, students and visitors throughout the campus. We support academics to enable exchanges between art, research and teaching, and inspire everyone to engage with art.

Each academic year, all of the Art Collection's activities are directly inspired by one of the University research themes. We have designated the 2026-7 session The Year of Topography. All exhibitions and events will consider the arrangements of natural and artificial structures and how artists and researchers work to make sense of our changing landscapes.

Visiting us

Our exhibitions are on display in the central spine of the Pathfoot Building. The building is open to the public between Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm. Please be aware that the Pathfoot Building is a working teaching building, with students going to classes, academic conferences or private events happening concurrently with your visit. If you require a quiet visiting time, please get in touch with us and we will advise you on the best times for access. 

At Pathfoot, there are food and beverage outlets in the Crush Hall and the Dining Room. See the University's catering website for more information. 

Getting here

The Pathfoot Building is the first building on the left, up the hill as you enter the University. The University of Stirling's campus is just two miles from the centre of Stirling in central Scotland and is served by public transport links from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and are easily accessible by bus, foot and bike from Stirling city centre or Bridge of Allan. Please be aware that during term time, parking can be extremely busy. See the University Getting Here page to plan your route.