Introspection through self-portraits for Anselme Servain, and photographic distancing for João Maurício Marques. Discover our readers picks’ bodies of work.
João Maurício Marques
During quarantine, João Maurício Marques, a 17-year-old Brazilian artist from Petropolis (a city situation in the Rio de Janeiro State), produces his first images. “It was a way to pass time. I had to do something productive with all my free-time. A few outings were enough for me to discover a new passion. Since then, I’ve been following classes and I want to learn more”, the young man tells us. While João Maurício Marques has turned to photojournalism, he does not want to close any doors, as he likes “to let nature run its course”. During confinement, he mainly photographed his window – he lives on the 10th floor. “It taught me to be patient”, he concludes.
© João Maurício Marques
Anselme Servain
“To satisfy my need to keep a memory of what I already know will be ephemeral, I used to document everything. When I turned 15, I became my own photographic object. I was going through a difficult time, like many teenagers, and photography helped me rediscover myself. It is still a refuge for me today”
, Anselme Servain explains. Moving bodies, death, or time passing, he takes on every subject as long as it feels like “actions were frozen, as if life had slowed down”. In his images – mostly self-portraits – he splits into town. “I separate who I am in real life and who poses and takes pictures. Photography enables me to express a certain part of myself, but it is the most unfinished – the rawest and more primitive. It is a way to tame it, and try to understand myself better. I like that this part of my identity remains unexplored, because it allows me to create my images.” From his creations emanates a form of innocence, essential to his metaphysical thoughts.
© Anselme Servain
Cover picture: © Anselme Servain
