Marc Erwin Babej

Marc Erwin Babej is a photographic artist based in New York City. He exclusively works in black‐and‐white, turning his congenital color-blindness into an advantage. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1970, he received a B.A. in History from Brown University and an M.Sc. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Marc began his career as one of the youngest reporters in the history of Forbes, while also writing for the arts sections of Corriere della Serra, Die Zeit, and The Guardian. His background in social sciences, strategy and media pervades his work. The films of Orson Welles and the photography of Gregg Toland and Roger Ballen, are important artistic influences. Uneasy coexistences are a primary theme: his images surface inner conflicts and, in so doing, expose seemingly contradictory beliefs. Conflict is a key means of representation – a stance that embraces the viewer with one arm, while holding him at a distance with the other. Marc’s image-making method calls for intensive collaboration with cast members. Members of his still-image film ensemble, Mercury Theatre, feature in a variety of roles across the work, both in front of, and behind, the camera. Marc also writes a column about luminaries in art and documentary photography – in German for Der Spiegel and in English for American Photo.