Karin Elisabet Dahl was born at the edge of the Finnish archipelago, raised in Seattle, and is a decade-plus long resident of Oakland, Ca. She holds an M.A. in Anthropology with emphasis on Archaeology of the Contemporary and Material Culture Studies from San Francisco State University and B.A. in Anthropology from Mills College.
As an artist and archaeologist, Karin’s work explores the convergences between cultural, natural, and material phenomena and how they are visually and culturally interpreted, from field guides to maps, to scientific illustrations and cartographic representations. Her focus on archaeological examinations of the contemporary world are rooted in every day materials, observing the constellation of relationships amongst people and things. In particular, understanding the ways processes of discard and waste obscure connections to what is intimate and familiar.
Karin aims to create artwork that sits outside any one discipline, taking seriously art practice as research, and reframing what it means to have archaeological engagements with/in the world.