„A brushstroke does not make a work authentic. Its absence does not make it inauthentic.“

— Kiki Karnstein

Working between photography, archives and AI-assisted image-making, her work explores memory, mythology and archetypal imagery. Combining references to art history and the history of photography with contemporary post-photographic processes, she investigates the visual unconscious of digital culture.

Originally trained through analogue black-and-white photography and darkroom work, her artistic practice has evolved from classical photography towards conceptual and AI-assisted image-making. At its centre lies the conditio humana and the persistence of images across time and media.

She is founder of the YVA Archive Berlin®, an independent initiative dedicated to photographic heritage, research and visual memory, and a member of the German Photographic Society (DGPh). In the winter semester 2026/27, she teaches Photography after Photography at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Berlin.

Recent exhibitions include EX MACHINA (2025), Natura Naturans (2025) and Escape Velocity (2026). Her work is represented by Galerie Mond Fine Arts, Berlin, and held in private collections.