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FINAL CALL TO ENTER AAP MAGAZINE B&W: PUBLICATION AND $1,000 CASH PRIZES
FINAL CALL TO ENTER AAP MAGAZINE B&W: PUBLICATION AND $1,000 CASH PRIZES
Patrick Morarescu
Performers catalogue
Patrick Morarescu
Patrick Morarescu

Patrick Morarescu

Country: Germany


Statement
"Due to the natural dynamic and complexity of the individual, I have always been drawn to portraiture. I photograph persons to whom I feel an initial attraction and try to reflect this force in images. A power that you cannot describe in words or in rational concepts but it captures the attention and creates a strong curiosity, a sort of addiction not only to body shapes, eyes, skin tonalities, but to what is behind: the thoughts and the mental state of that persons. And I feel a sort of instinct of possession, a desire to materialize the moment that this person is living.

The human presence, with it’s emotionality, is some times too strong; it is almost insulting, shouting to get all the attention: Like a red dot in the green, like a flash in the darkness. To balance that force I need the background, the space that as a negative form defines the contour of the figure. Through that supplementary space I create a whole story. The key of my research lies in the dialogue between the person and its background; sometimes I think I am not portraying a person with a background, but the background with a person; sometimes it is the opposite. The background speaks about fear, happiness, peace, desperation; it speaks about the circumstances through an atmosphere. There is one basic element that is crucial to bring all the elements together: The light. Like a thread that creates structure and consistence in a tissue; the magical substance of photography. It is a physical condition that contains many extraordinary qualities. The photography is a chemical reaction in which the light is transcripted in a plain surface, creating a code that by the eyes suggest reality; but photography is not reality itself but an abstraction of it. And this is the point that fascinates me; the possibility of recreating the reality through the chemical process."
-- Patrick Morarescu
 

Inspiring Portfolios

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More Great Photographers To Discover

Devanshu Jha
India
2006
Devanshu Jha is an 18-year-old photographer based in Mumbai, India. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Engineering Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay while primarily focusing on street photography. His journey with photography began at the young age of 11, capturing some flowers on his parent's mobile phones. Over the years, Devanshu refined his craft, documenting the streets of India with a distinctive blend of visual storytelling and compositional aesthetics. With a keen eye for composition and lighting, his work goes beyond mere documentation, weaving entire narratives within a single frame. His images reflect the rich social fabric of India, capturing its immense diversity with an artistic and cinematic approach. Beyond photography, Devanshu has a diverse background in visual arts and storytelling, having studied both cinema and photographic theory extensively before gaining access to professional tools. This analytical approach has helped him craft images that not only capture reality but also shape it, finding beauty in fleeting moments and coincidences that often go unnoticed." Statement "Before university, I learned photography purely from a theoretical perspective—I didn’t have the tools or the freedom to practice it. Instead, I studied photographs, analyzed cinema, and tried to understand the essence of what makes an image truly powerful. When I finally got my hands on an old DSLR from a friend, I never looked back. Since that day, I’ve spent countless mornings waking up at 4 AM, wandering the streets of Mumbai, documenting the endless stories unfolding around me. Photography has become an adventure—sometimes, I am just an observer, and at other times, I become part of the story itself, capturing the small coincidences that make everyday life extraordinary." Awarded Photographer of the Week - Week 07
Olivia Vivanco
I am a Mexican visual artist. My work explores human movement, focusing on migration from within the migrant experience itself and the traces it leaves behind. I draw on anthropological tools to approach migration as a social phenomenon. Photography has always been my starting point, which I expand by incorporating other audiovisual languages. I have exhibited my work at Museo Carrillo Gil, Museo Universitario del Chopo, Centro de la Imagen, Centro Cultural de España, and Alianza Francesa de México, among others, as well as internationally in Colombia, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the United States. In 2019, I was a beneficiary of the FONCA Artistic Residence grant. In 2017, I was selected for the exhibition “The Great Machine IV” at Embarrat, Festival of Contemporary Creation in Spain; for “Caledoscopio steady-cam,” presented at the 1st International Week of Video Creation in Lanzarote; and for the “3rd Contemporary Photography Competition in Mexico.” In 2016, I was selected for the “XII Femsa Biennial” and the “2nd National Biennial of Landscape.” In 2013, I was awarded First Place in the “19th Latin American Documentary Photography Contest” in Colombia and Third Place in the “XXXII ENAH Anthropological Photography Contest.” In 2010, I received the FONCA grant for the promotion of projects and cultural co-investment for the publication of the book Guadalupe. Other recognitions include the selection of my short film Isalia at the festivals “Pantalla de Cristal” and “Mujeres en el Cine y la Televisión” (2009), and First Place in the “Photographic Report Contest Stories of Mexican Women,” organized by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico. My work is part of the artist’s book collection of the Alumnos Foundation, the documentary video archive of Curtadoc in Brazil, and the Benetton Collection. Passing Through Passing Through emerges from a reflection on how to represent the migrant experience without resorting to images that may expose, stigmatize, or oversimplify those living through displacement. Through journeys along migratory routes, shelters, and transitional spaces across Mexico, the project focuses on the traces, objects, and territories that bear witness to these experiences. I am interested in observing roads, refuges, and abandoned belongings as marks of presence, memory, and resilience—objects that function as deferred portraits, capable of speaking about those who were there without directly exposing their identities. Rather than solely documenting a humanitarian crisis, Passing Through seeks to create forms of representation that remain sensitive to the dignity of migrants, avoiding criminalization and stereotypical portrayals. The photographed spaces—rooms, dining halls, pathways, railway tracks—appear as temporary scenarios marked by waiting, uncertainty, and constant mobility. My practice combines observation, listening, and accompaniment, understanding that these territories are shaped not only by violence, but also by strategies of survival, solidarity, and hope. This project proposes a gaze that shifts attention from the face to the trace, from spectacularized events to the memory embedded in objects and spaces, constructing a visual narrative that seeks to foster awareness of the migrant experience from an ethical, critical, and deeply human perspective.
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AAP Magazine #58 B&W
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Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #58 B&W
Publish your work in our printed magazine and win $1,000 cash prizes