Monica Pronk

As part of a limited edition fine-art series shot in Costa Rica that explore womankind’s intrinsic connection to the ocean and nature, Monica Pronk’s work resonates with the innate beauty of the natural environment. With titles that evoke a sultry tranquillity – Carazon de Sol (Heart of Sun), Las Sirenas (The Mermaids), Abundance, Immerse – these prints are a siren song to the sea, a marrying of female form and boundless space that is gently evocative and wound in nostalgia.

An internationally published, award-winning photographer, Monica specialises in portrait, fashion, and lifestyle work. Her passion, however, is the creation of rich stories that peel back layers of otherworldly wonder: infused with a wildness and an intrinsic femininity, they ask the viewer to imagine ‘what if?’

Based on Sydney’s sundrenched Northern Beaches, the artist first discovered photography in Year 10, and, in her own words, ‘has barely put her camera down since’. Through her work she aspires to advocate for the preservation of the natural world, detailing our vital connection to the earth – our life source – and the fragile balance between it and humanity.

“I love to tell stories with light and find beauty everywhere, from beneath the water, or above. Whether I’m in the studio creating a visual concept or wading in the ocean at dusk. I find pure magic in those moments of creating and the endless possibilities they hold.”

Inspired by the affinity she feels with the water, the energy of the ocean, and the way the light plays on it. Monica describes the feel of warm sun on bare skin, the emotions she feels in this space, and the idea that we can make a difference through seeking and reconnecting to the earth.

“I begin with a feeling or an emotion that is conjured by a place in nature. Then I follow this to wherever it leads me…”

Monica explains that, when people look at her work, she wants them to feel the way they do when reading a line of a poem – and going back to reread it again. And that makes sense: there is a timelessness to the work, and an expansiveness that draws you in, captivating, intentional and pensive.