Black Marina

Born in Russia. Lives in Canada.

The serene introspection of solitude and the presumption of love is conveyed by Marina Black, a Canadian photographer of Russian origin. She presents at Galerie VU’ her long narrative of images blending evanescent architectures and uncertain bodies. The central themes of her work range from death and anxiety to the beauty and ugliness of the human body, as well as identity and memory. Her works could be described as “portraits”; however, rather than representing a person, the artist seeks to bring forth a state of mind. Fascinated by the idea that when words disappear, the presence of the body is still felt through spaces, punctuation, or light, the photographer explores the emotional truth of people’s lives: what does their existence look like beneath the surface?

Her images are based on experimentation and question the physical process that attempts to recreate a surface. She works with analog, digital, and contact technologies, paying particular attention to the tactile dimension of prints and the interplay of fragments.

Marina Black studied History and Painting before art became her main activity. She received the W. Lawrence Heisey Award. She was a guest curator at the CONTACT International Photography Festival. Her work has also been published in Eyemazing Susan Vol II, edited by Susan Zadeh, as well as in FOSSILS OF LIGHT + TIME, edited by Elizabeth Avedon, editor of L’Oeil de la Photographie, in the project Mercy led by photographer James Withlow Delano, and in BURN, edited by Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey.

Her works have been exhibited worldwide and published in various specialized art publications. Her photographs are part of the collections of the Municipal Heritage Museum of Malaga, the Alliance Française in Canada, and IZOLYATSIA in Ukraine.