Presence in the Absence

May 18, 2023

The story takes desolated buildings and structures as its starting point. Devoid of human presence, albeit designed and constructed by humans, these are places that were once the product of a utopian vision.

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The author opens up about his own struggles with Black Eyed Dog — A Photographic Healing Process. It was born out of a breakdown, a complete shutdown of his nervous system which made him find himself in a dark, gloomy place, one which he has never visited before.
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English Journey
The book ‘English Journey’ by the Bradford author J. B. Priestley was published in 1934 it was an account of his travels across England. It’s a study of contemporary England at the time and its influence had reached far beyond the literary world. It’s claimed that it has
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Noora
A person’s own life ultimately comes to a screeching halt when their child is born. They are no longer fully free or the center of their own universe as there is that tiny human whose creation they were responsible for and who cannot take care of their own basic needs.
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Barry Rosenthal brings our attention to this pertinent issue. His pictures of colourful plastic packaging of crisps, chocolate and other snacks are reminiscent of Andreas Gursky — a startling number of objects creating a pool of words and colours to a dizzying effect. They are found man-made objects that the artist has collected and photographed.
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The European Union, or the Council of Europe as it was known when it was founded in 1949, brought in tremendous change to society permeating its very core. The benefits were of economic, cultural and security nature but some also argued that it erased their national identity. One of the biggest improvements, though, was that one could travel, live and study in a place different from one’s birth country unhindered — it has never been this easy to meet, fall in love with and settle in with people
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When we think of homosexuality, the world had made huge leaps in recent years. Gay marriage is now legal in the US and the UK, protections from discrimination exist in law, gay people are allowed to adopt children — events that we have come to accept as normal, as they should
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Back in September 2016, Aaron Chown set out to document the Jungle Camp in Calais where asylum seekers reside before attempting to enter the United Kingdom. The photographer highlighted the humanitarian migration crisis that engulfed the continent 5 years ago and decided it’s appropriate and important to remind us of the situation on the 5th anniversary of the demolition of the camp.
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Presence in the Absence
The story takes desolated buildings and structures as its starting point. Devoid of human presence, albeit designed and constructed by humans, these are places that were once the product of a utopian vision.
Karin van de Wiel

mnngful Originals

mnngful Members

Timo Knorr
DE
,
Hamburg

Documentary photographer focused on the photographic research of groups that move in a field of tension of the social conflicts of the current time. I am looking for the questions: How do we want to live today, how do we want to eat and how can we make our world a little bit better.

James Rudoni
UK
,
London

Photography allows me to express myself using the world around me. Things that I would have otherwise ignored take on a new weight and potential. With my curious eye, I am motivated to capture the chaos, weirdness and beauty of our lives.

Nikita Ghate
UK
,
London

I’m a London based Architect turned photographer. My work, although not limited to, tends to heavily explore ‘place attachment’ between people and the built/un-built environment around them. I like to deeply observe and capture the brilliance of everyday life, that we sometimes tend to oversee.

Brian O'Neil
US
,

Sociologist, currently a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the School of Ocean Futures in the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University. In addition, I am affiliated with the Ocean Nexus Center at the University of Washington’s College of the Environment’s Ocean Nexus Fellows Program.

Neal Haddaway
UK
,
London

I am a documentary photographer/photojournalist and researcher working on topics related to environmental and social justice. My work focuses on human's connections with nature, and society's efforts to protect our planet.

Valeria Mongelli
IT
,

Documentary photographer and journalist based between Belgium and Italy. In her documentary research, Valeria focuses on social and environmental issues, the outskirts, and the underground. Valeria's work has been published internationally at Le Monde, El Pais, Le Vif / L'Express, Il Sole 24 Ore, The Diplomat, Asia Times and other outlets. Her work is distributed by Studio Hans Lucas, a French agency partner of AFP, Reuters, Redux, Contrasto, and others, and Zuma Press.

Elena Kalyuzhnaya
RU
,
St. Petersburg

Documentary photographer based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Student of Academy of documentary photography “Fotografika” in Saint-Petersburg. Originally from a small town in the south of Russia, Elena appreciates the authenticity of the rural area and its traditions. The human place in society, PTSD emotions, and life in post-war and problematic regions are the main topics of her work. Elena’s work was published in Dodho Magazine, Takie Dela, Republic, and Regnum publishing. Elena is a silver prizer of Budapest international Contest 2020 in the student category. Also, her work was a part of the Ariano Film festival.

Vera Hadzhiyska
UK
,
Portsmouth

Multi-disciplinary artist and curator based in Portsmouth, England. Her practice is informed by the study of migration, cultural and national identity, history and collective memory. Her work begins autobiographically, tracing family narratives and shared traumas. Through the use of photography, archival documents, audio and video installations Hadzhiyska examines historical and political events in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, their impact on people’s lives and identity.

Callum O'Keefe
UK
,
Bristol

Documentary photographer focused on the relation between people and place. Building the base of my portfolio on live music, he has recently graduated with a First Class Honours in Photography from The University West of England.

Philip Butler
UK
,
Worcestershire

Documentary photographer focusing primarily on capturing the remains of Great Britain’s inter-war architecture. Philip has published two books focusing on this work; ‘Odeon Relics’ (2019 on ADM) and London Tube Stations 1924-1961 (2023 on FUEL).

Benedict Stenning
FR
,

Documentary photographer whose work is primarily concerned with investigating peoples experiences with their proximal surroundings. Benedict is interested in the relationships we as human beings form with our environs and each other while seeking to subvert perspectives; identifying and capturing liminal spaces to form narratives and provoke an emotional response. Benedict was brought up with the arts from a young age and has an innate appreciation for the powers of story telling. His grandfather, Moran Caplat CBE, was General Manager at Glyndebourne opera house in the Sussex countryside for over 30 years and his father was a stage manager at the BBC and later an associate producer in film.

Dylan Halvorsen
ZA
,
Kempton Park, Gauteng

I am a South African based photographer, writer, and graphic designer. I am currently studying a BSc in IT and seeing where it takes me.

jose artur macedo
PT
,
Ponte de Sor

Self-taught photographer, based in Ponte de Sor (PT)

Ardelle Schneider
DE
,
Düsseldorf

Photographer based in Düsseldorf, Germany, born and raised in Hanover. Schneider is studying photography for a master's degree at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. In 2020 she completed her bachelor's degree in communication design at the Peter Behrens School of Arts (HSD/PSBA) in Düsseldorf. Her work "Familystories" can be seen in the group exhibition "Stopover" at Museum Folkwang (Essen, Germany) until February 6th.

Floriana Avellino
IT
,

Stories worth seeing

mnngful is a platform supporting independent documentary photography & photojournalism.

Thanks to passionate storytellers, we learn about matters that otherwise stay neglected. Stories that matter, but have not been covered enough are captured and told by passion-driven photographers and journalists.

They create because they care about the world they live in and tell us about matters beyond our eyesight.Their work is often driven by pure enthusiasm, fuelled by own beliefs and dreams for a better world. That's why such independent work is worth special attention.

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