MARTIN BOGREN

Palermo, Italy – October 7-13   2023

Palermo has a magic of its own. A mix of many cultures, which throughout the centuries have left their influence – from Greeks to Romans, Spanish, Normans, Arabs. Each culture brought their architecture, food, ways of life. In the last ten years Palermo has changed a lot, offering now many opportunity to all: you can visit museums, food markets, little streets in the centre and still feel save in a very creative and international environment. Full of contrasts, between the luxury sides of town, and the more popular ones, with their world famous markets. . A real paradise for street photography ! Walking through Palermo is like making a jump back in time.

Palermo has the largest historical centre in Europe: and if you want to escape from the centre, with a short ride, you will on the beach of Mondello!

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Our perception of the world is in many ways like a mirror – a reflection of our inner.

Memories, experiences, thoughts, and emotions, they all define who we are and forms a unique, individual platform, clearly connected to the pictures we make.

Photography is a wonderful way to investigate and develop an understanding of this connection.

During five intense days, you will work under the direction of Martin with an individual project, where the goal is to develop your personal voice and rely on your intuition. To immerse your presence and sincere reflect yourself in your pictures. During the week you will work through a series that tells not only about someone else, a subject, a place or a theme – but more important about yourself.

Through personal feedback, discussions of the participants’ on-going work, class critiques and one to one reviews, the participants will develop a consciousness of their work and its connection to themselves.

The first day of the workshop is dedicated to inspiration.

Martin will show his work and talk about the process, share methods and point out mental as well as concrete tools. But you will also be viewing unfinished series, to discuss the doubts, hesitations, mistakes, and fails; all components in the process as important as a final ”successful” picture. How to proceed when things doesn`t work and how to put yourself in the position of a starting point, and finding inspiration within yourself when it lacks.

Participants are asked to prepare themself with an idea and a formulation of a possible project carried out during the week, as well as a portfolio of their previous work.

Martin will be viewing each student’s past / previous work and discuss the possibilities and potential of your project.

The individual project of each participant will be altered  with common shorter exercises.  Through personal feedback, discussions about the participants’ work and group criticism, participants each day get feedback on the current work, and being encouraged to increasingly deepen their involvement and presence.

• Viewing other photographers work and discuss it

• The book dummy as a tool and inspiration in the process.

• Individual personal feedback of each participants

“Although the early work of Martin Bogren can be categorized as documentary photography, he has since developed a personal and poetic writing that gets more defines as his research progresses.

In his imaginary of dreamlike and sometimes disturbing wanderings, by his subtle prints all in shades of grey, he puts into action a sensitive affirmation of his subjective visions.

The book holds an important place in his creative process,

ltalia, published by Max Ström in 20’l 6 has been widely acclaimed by critics and his current project on summer balls in the Swedish countryside, to which he has dedicated many years, and whose model is being finalized, confirms both the evolution of his writing and the privileged relationship his work has with the book.

His New York-based project, which has recently begun, is taking a new direction, with the first shift to colour, alternating with the black-white, to express the feeling of strangeness that passes through it when it is lost in the North American city. His vividly illuminated images, full of striking portraits and invisible faces, celestial visions and misplacedness set the beginnings of a powerful and contagious body of work.”

Caroline Benichou  Galerie VU’

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BIOGRAPHY