Nika McKagen works with traditional darkroom processes, sculpture, and essay. She is particularly interested in what goes on both underground and in the dark. Her work, largely based in field research in caves and mines, addresses the literal thresholds between the aboveground and the subterranean worlds, as well as the mythic, cultural, and environmental consequences that occur when humans transgress those boundaries. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a recipient of the Film Photo Award, Photolucida Critical Mass’s SPAO Award, and the Sonntag Grant. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.