Her photography is a way for Marinka to communicate with the outside world about topics she cares about and an essential part of her link to life. In a way, it is her process of making sense of the world we live in. Marinka Masséus received the 1st place Sony World Photography Awards 2019 – Professional Creative Category, the 1st place LensCulture Portrait Awards 2019, the 1st place TPOTY 2018 and many others.
Under the same sun
The photo series “Under the same sun” was created in collaboration with the Josephat Torner Foundation and ‘Stichting Afrikaanse Albino’s’ to raise awareness about the circumstances of people with albinism (PWA) in Tanzania.
In Tanzania, when you have albinism, you are thought to be evil. There even is a price on the head of children with albinism since killing a person with albinism is considered to bring good luck. The fears and superstitions surrounding albinism run very deep in Tanzanian society. So deep that many women who give birth to a child with albinism are told to kill the baby at birth. If she refuses, she and the baby will become outcasts.
Many of those who have been attacked are young children. In December of 2014, a 4 year-old girl with albinism named Pendo Emmanuelle, was taken from her mother’s arms. Police have yet to find her body. In February 2015, Yohana Bahati, a boy of just 18 months, was taken from his home, his mother’s face slashed with machetes as she tried to protect her son. She narrowly survived. Days later, little Yohana’s body was recovered from a forest, where he was found face down in the mud with his arms and legs hacked off.
Because of killings like this, many children with albinism now live in camps. Rejected by and cut-off from their families, they live separate.
“Many children with albinism are denied the most fundamental human rights. They are despised and taught that they are evil, that their existence is a curse. They live in constant fear of brutal attacks.”
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Marinka Masséus
After finishing her MBA, Marinka’s studies in Buddhist Psychology guided her philosophical journey and the Photo Academy in Amsterdam stimulated her to channel her concepts and feelings into images. Marinka’s photography revolves around people and their place in society. Especially topics concerning injustice and inequality are a driving force behind her work. “Ultimately for me it’s about connecting with people, I remember each and every moment that they, for a brief moment, let me into their lives.” Marinka Masséus received the 1st place Sony World Photography Awards 2019 – Professional Creative Category with her series “Chosen [not] to be”, selected from 326.997 entries.
Awards
1st place Sony World Photography Awards 2019 – Professional Creative Category | 1st place LensCulture Portrait Awards 2019 | 1st place TPOTY 2018 | 1st place Zilveren Camera 2017 – International Documentary | 3rd place Kuala Lumpur Portrait Awards 2017 | LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017 | Recipient Lucie Award | IPA Photographer of the Year 2016 | Gold Prix de la Photographie Paris 2015 | GUP NEW Dutch Talent 2014 and more.
Publications
GEO Magazine | The Observer |The Guardian | El País | La Stampa | Magazine European Photography | Il Post | United Nations | National Geographic | Die Zeit | Stern | Israel Times | La Stampa | Tages Anzeiger | HuffPost | Vanity Fair | Blouin Art Info | LINDA | Musée Magazine | Pf | Marie Claire | Jan Magazine | the Daily Mail | Tagesschau | Metro UK | Sofia Press | Marie Claire | Courrier International | El País Semanal | Observer Magazine | BJP British Journal of Photography – Portrait of Humanity and more.
Exhibitions
– Daegu Photo Biennial, Korea | sept 2020
– ImageNation, Paris Photo, Paris | nov 2019
– Museum Villa Rot, Germany | oct 2019
– Berlin Art week, Gallery Circle1, Berlin | sept 2019
– Xposure Photography Festival, United Arab Emirates | sept 2019
– Sony World Photography Organisation, Tokyo | june 2019
– Head-On Photo Festival, Sydney, Australia | may 2019
– Aperture Gallery, New York | april-may 2019
– ImageNation, Galleria Civica G.B.Bosio, Italy | april-may 2019
– TPOTY exhibition, Towerbridge, London | april-may 2019
– Somerset House, London | april-may 2019