Faces, Papers, and Paper Flowers: Cristina Mittermeier’s Memory Collages

The artist Cristina Mittermeier has spent more than thirty years behind a camera, traveling to remote villages and fragile ecosystems around the world. Her photographs capture wildlife, communities, and landscapes that are under threat from climate change and human activity. She uses her images to raise awareness and inspire action to protect the planet. Mittermeier’s work is not only beautiful; it is also a call to look closely at the places and people that are disappearing.

Her focus on vulnerable ecosystems has earned her international recognition. She has worked in places such as the Amazon rainforest, the Arctic tundra, and the coral reefs of the Pacific. In each region, she documents the delicate balance between nature and human influence. Her images show how small changes can have large effects, and they remind viewers that the health of the planet depends on the well‑being of all its inhabitants.

Now, Mittermeier’s latest exhibition, Marks of Memory, opens at Hilton Contemporary in Chicago. The show runs from July 22 to September 15, 2026. It brings her mixed‑media pieces to a new audience and invites visitors to explore the fragile beauty of the natural world through a different lens.