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The

Artist

Maria Siorba

Nominated in
2023
By
Void
Lives and Works in

Maria Siorba (b. 1986) is a Greek visual artist based in Athens, with an educational background in Communication, Graphic Design and Fine Arts. Taking a subtle approach to subjects of intimacy and human emotion, the notion of empathy is a cornerstone of Siorba’s artistic exploration. She examines the role that personality, mental state, emotional intelligence and cultural context play in the context of ever-evolving modes of technology and communication. Communicating and miscommunicating, her images reflect the difficulties that humans encounter in expressing themselves.

Projects

Blank Verse

This series of portraits, abstract compositions and poetic scenes is inspired by the deep desire of a human being to get to know the inner truths of another person. I ponder the notion of empathy, questioning what an inner, emotional landscape might look like, how our encounter or non-encounter with it makes us feel – standing behind or in front of the camera – while also reflecting on the dynamics that can emerge from valuable human connections. Is what we look for in others in fact ourselves? Whenever I observe the world around me, I tend to make unusual connections. Each time, I feel as if I’m entering an imaginary observatory with its own sense of time and space, where the rules and laws of common reality don't really apply. This often gives me a feeling of loneliness, abnormality, or even discomfort; I feel as if my brain is working backwards, or in mysterious ways. I can’t always conclude what it is I’m really looking for. One of the subjects that excites me most is the depths and truths of the human inner world, which pushes me in turn to examine the complexity of human relationships. Through my photographs, which underline the importance of diving deep into our souls to see what’s really there, I finally have a means to legitimise this personal way of looking at things.

Maria Siorba
was nominated by
Void
in
2023
Show all projects
Each year every member of the FUTURES European Photography Platform nominates a set of artists and projects to become part of the FUTURES network.

Ania Vouloudi is a photographer, video artist and poet currently living in Thessaloniki, Greece. In her art, she uses analogue mediums, findings and chronicles of her life to create docufiction stories. Ania ́s photographs deal with apparent banality and daily routine. Having a low-fi and unpretentiousness approach that captivates us. Ania has experimented a lot with zine making, which we highly appreciate in her practice.

Elena Helfrecht is a German visual artist based in Bavaria. Having a dark and eerie aesthetic, Elena navigates universes that we consider in resonance with Void’s practices: the threshold of fiction and reality, the exploration of existentialism through mortality, trauma, memory and post-memory.

Eva Vei is a Greek visual artist whose work mainly revolves around the notion of communication and intimacy within everyday human interaction. She is interested in exploring issues of identity, belonging and human connections in modern societies while challenging the boundaries of the photographic medium. Void believes that her work, yet still unpublished, perfectly suits the book form, due to her ability in creating non-linear visual narratives, and her search for new methodologies of documentary photography and storytelling.

Maria Siorba is a Greek visual artist based in Athens, with an educational background in Communication, Graphic design and Fine Arts. Her subtle approach to
intimacy and human emotions is what sparked Void’s curiosity about Siorba’s work. Probably one of the most important contemporary subjects, “empathy” is a highlight of Siorba’s artistic exploration. Communicating, and miscommunicating. The difficulties humans encounter in expressing themselves. She examines the role that personality, mental state, emotional intelligence and cultural context play and how all these functions under the use of the constantly-evolving, technological tools of
communication.

Vic Bakin is a self-educated Ukrainian photographer. Rooted in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bakin explores different local communities such as queer and fashion scenes,
rave and music culture and closed communities such as student dorms. Recently, due to the ongoing circumstances, his focus shifted to the themes of war in Ukraine. Void’s interest in personal diaries finds a great place in Bakin’s body of work — which explores his identity through analogue photography.