Ig Mata has been working with the camera obscura and the pinhole camera since 1988, first in her native Brazil and later in New York City where she currently resides. Mata has perfected a technique of transferring photographic images onto glass, based on the use of historic hand-applied emulsions. Her photographs are combined with a wide variety of objects in three-dimensional form. Her works have been exhibited in Brazil and the United States, and are widely collected.
“Photography is my passion. The challenge of combining its beauty with the delicate nature of glass to create unique works of art is a great motivation. My inspiration is the search for beauty and simplicity. The transparent nature of glass permits one to look beyond the image to the shadows projected on the surrounding space, adding a magical atmosphere to living the work and intensifying the dream-like quality of my pinhole photographs.”
Ig mata studio opened in New York City since 1999, offering a line of glass and crystal objects with hand applied photographs, created by Ig Mata and individually hand-fabricated. Mata’s work has received a strong response from the retail market and also from wholesalers, with a recent addition of corporate clients. SAKS Fifth Avenue’s Corporate Gifts Collection, HBO’s “The Sopranos”, The Whitney Museum, The International Center of Photography, The Bryant Park’s Public Library, and The Museum of the City of New York, are some of Ig Mata studio’s top clients.