MIRANDA SCHMITZ PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOUT ME
Miranda Schmitz (°1969) studied Applied Economic Sciences (International Business Management) at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
In daily life she works as an independent interim manager and consultant. Nevertheless she also caught the photography bug. In June 2017 she graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lier. In addition she followed several master classes by well-known photographers (e.g. Michael Ackerman and Klavdij Sluban).
Miranda Schmitz strives to compile atmospheres, moods and feelings in her work. She prefers to use suggestive and ambiguous images that are often layered and which viewers may define themselves. It is the emotions and the visual poetry that provide an extra layer to her images.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
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IN BETWEEN
'IN BETWEEN’ is not necessarily an examination into the specific traits of the current generation of teens, but rather an honest and timeless musing about coming of age in general.
Since I don’t have children of my own but do possess a certain curiosity about the current generation of teenagers, I used my camera as a “looking glass” to observe their world.
For this project I wanted to delve deeper than the individuality of the people and try and capture the essence of puberty as a developmental phase of life. I photographed Belgian youths between the ages of 13 and 15. They are the sons and daughters of friends and colleagues.
Because the images have been stripped of all context, the kids can only communicate with their bodies and show themselves and their personality through their look and posture.
The enigmatic and cinematic portraits from her graduation work ‘IN BETWEEN’ received global praise with several awards and nominations. The portraits were frequently exhibited in galleries and photo festivals across Europe and the United States. The project was also chosen as 1 of the 10 best and remarkable graduation projects of 2017 by the Belgian newspaper 'De Morgen'.
MENTAL MIST
I realized this project during a 1 year masterclass in Holland (led by John Lambrichts).
The work has been exhibited for 3 months in Centre Céramique (Maastricht) and was chosen for 18 solo-exhibitions in Belgium (Fotografiecircuit Vlaanderen).
It's about the Alhzeimer disease of my grandmother and my fear to get the disease sooner or later.
ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE (A MENTAL JOURNEY)
This project was chosen for the travelling exhibition of PhotoView 2015 by Beeldexpressie.
It's about my thoughts and feelings when driving long distances to the south of Europe where my sister in law lives.
SHADOWS FROM THE PAST
This project was my interpretation of the theme 'family'.
What if your family is not a safe harbor, but a place of fear and thread.