About Larissa Brand

A practice of mood, memory, and quiet discovery.

My name is Larissa Brand—artist, poet, and wanderer based in Cape Town. I work across analog photography, collage, and poetry, each medium feeding the next. My art is a practice in seeing: in noticing the quiet things, the strange light, the textures of thought and nature. It’s also a way of feeling—moody, nostalgic, reflective—and always intuitive.

What ties everything together is my love for the analog. Whether I’m loading a roll of 35mm film, piecing together fragments of paper into a collage, or scribbling away with a pen - I’m drawn to the slow, unpredictable process of creating by hand. I rarely know what a piece will become until it’s done. That’s the joy of it—the element of surprise, the discovery, the act of becoming.

I come from a background in literature and theatre, which means words have always played a big role in how I see the world. I often write poetry alongside my visual work, and I’ve had the joy of performing it live too. I see all my art forms as extensions of one another. My photography inspires my writing. My collages carry the tone of poems. They all speak to similar things: nostalgia, identity, nature, duality, memory, and the philosophical messiness of being alive.

Sometimes I create work just for myself. Other times, it’s for others—I’ve been lucky to create commissions for individuals, musicians (including two album covers), and even a therapy centre. My photos have been exhibited in small, offbeat spaces around Cape Town, and I’m currently working on releasing zines that combine my photographs, collages, and poetry.

At the end of the day, I hope my work makes you feel something—a quiet connection to yourself, to the world, or to a moment long gone. I hope it surprises you, even unsettles you a little. I hope it opens something.