Marinka Masséus: Under the Same Sun
© Marinka Masséus
As an artist / photographer what do you question through your work and why?
“As a photographer and visual artist, I question boundaries, especially ones rooted in injustice and inequality. Why?
Because I have to. My art is a way of processing the world, a mirror in which my feelings about the world are reflected back to it. My creative process releases the stifling impact of internalized expectations, the most personal boundary of all, and I embark on the journey of becoming me.”
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Under the Same Sun
This photo series was created in collaboration with the Josephat Torner Foundation and ‘Stichting Afrikaanse Albino's’ to raise awareness about the circumstances of people with albinism living in Africa, specifically Tanzania.
In Tanzania, when you have albinism, you are thought to be evil. There even is a price on the head of children with albinism since killing a person with albinism is considered to bring good luck. The fears and superstitions surrounding albinism run very deep in Tanzanian society. So deep that many women who give birth to a child with albinism are told to kill the baby at birth. If she refuses, she and the baby will become outcasts.
Many children with albinism are denied the most fundamental human rights. They are despised and taught that they are evil, that their existence is a curse. They live in constant fear of brutal attacks. Because of widely held superstitions among Tanzanians - including the widespread practices of so-called witch doctors who use their body parts in potions – people with albinism are persecuted, attacked and killed. They are considered not to be human, so therefore people do not feel bad about hurting or killing them.
Many of those who have been attacked are young children. In December of 2014, a 4 year-old girl with albinism named Pendo Emmanuelle, was taken from her mother’s arms. Police have yet to find her body. In February 2015, Yohana Bahati, a boy of just 18 months, was taken from his home, his mother’s face slashed with machetes as she tried to protect her son. She narrowly survived. Days later, little Yohana’s body was recovered from a forest, where he was found face down in the mud with his arms and legs hacked off.
Because of killings like this, many children with albinism now live in camps. Rejected by and cut-off from their families; they live separate from society in order to keep them safe. In some of the camps the living circumstances are horrible, with even basic care lacking. And this separation doesn’t solve the problems. It doesn’t help with integration. It doesn’t give them a chance to grow into valued and respected members of society. They are secluded, kept apart, hidden, often mistreated and shamed. That’s why the mission of the Josephat Torner Foundation is social acceptance and inclusion.
Besides the superstitions, PWA in Tanzania face another threat. Their skin and eyes are without any pigmentation, which means that they have no natural protection against the harsh African sun. This lack of melanin results in severe burns, every day over and over again, which in time turn to brown spots (usually in the face) and in the long run to skin cancer. Dedicated organizations are working hard to get sunscreen to Africa to help protect PWA - organizations like “Under the Same Sun” in Canada or “Stichting Afrikaanse Albino’s” and “Stichting Inside the Same” in the Netherlands. They need all the support they can get.
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About Marinka Masseus
Marinka Masséus | 1970
Portrait and documentary photographer | Visual artist
Education
Fotoacademie FOAC | Amsterdam | 2013-2015
Coaching opleiding | Trainers Academie | Amsterdam | 2008-2010
Master of Business | Rijks Universiteit Groningen | Groningen | 1989-1994
Stockholm Universitet | Stockholm | 1994
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After finishing her MBA, Marinka's studies in Buddhist Psychology guided her philosophical journey and the Photo Academy in Amsterdam stimulated her to channel her concepts and feelings into images.
Marinka's photography revolves around people and their place in society. Especially topics concerning injustice and inequality are a driving force behind her work.
Her photography is a way for Marinka to communicate with the outside world about topics she cares about and is therefore an essential part of her link to life. In a way, it is her process of making sense of the world we live in.
Ultimately for me it's about connecting with people, I remember each and every moment that they, for a brief moment, let me into their lives.
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Awards
Fetart CIRCULATION(S) 2020 - 1st place Sony World Photography Awards 2019 – Professional Creative Category | 1st place LensCulture Portrait Awards 2019 | Shortlisted German Peace Prize for Photography 2019 | 1st place TPOTY 2018 | 1st place Zilveren Camera 2017 – International Documentary | 3rd place Kuala Lumpur Portrait Awards 2017 | winner LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017 | Recipient Lucie Award | IPA Photographer of the Year 2016 |GUP NEW Dutch Talent 2014 and more.
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Publications
GEO Magazine | The Observer |The Guardian | El País | La Stampa |Magazine European Photography | Il Post | United Nations | National Geographic | Die Zeit | Stern | Israel Times | La Stampa | Tages Anzeiger | HuffPost | Vanity Fair | Blouin Art Info | LINDA | Musée Magazine | Pf | Marie Claire | Jan Magazine | the Daily Mail | Tagesschau | Metro UK | Sofia Press | Marie Claire | Courrier International | El País Semanal | Observer Magazine | BJP British Journal of Photography – Portrait of Humanity and more.
For more information:
http:// www.marinkamasseus.com
www.instagram.com/marinkamasseus
>> View exhibition Under the Same Sun