Chernogirls Act II: NYC finds our heroines a world away from their motherland, in New York City and Miami. Set in the winter of 2013-14, the Chernogirls are now strangers in a strange land, in search of adventure and opportunity.
Some look to settle in America; others are just here for “the season” – already scheduled to travel on to Paris, Milan or Hong Kong. For all of them, “home” has become a relative term: they are from the former USSR and in culture capitals, but no longer of any place in particular. In an earlier age, Soviet media would have categorized them as rootless cosmopolitans.
They are educated, polyglots; refined and world-wise beyond their years. But their ticket out was paid in an altogether different currency: a Faustian bargain with their unearned, perishable yet highly-prized appearance in the balance. To a global fashion cult that apotheosizes images of statuesque yet elfin young women with wide-set eyes, our Chernogirls epitomize a sublime and unapproachable beauty.
Becoming idols has not ben without consequence: the Chernogirls have become detached from – and, in the process, perhaps transcended – their physical form. Like a Greek chorus, they are onstage not as characters, but as commentators on a plot that takes place around them, but doesn’t involve them.
Marc Erwin Babej is a fine art and documentary photographer who works exclusively in black-and-white. 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’s background in social sciences, marketing strategy, media and entertainment pervades his photographic work.
Uneasy coexistences are a predominant 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.
Marc’s work is published regularly – both in general media and in international art publications. He also writes a column about luminaries in art and documentary photography for Der Spiegel and American Photo.
Awards Fine Art Photographer
Columnist, Arts, Der Spiegel
Columnist, American Photo
Contributor, The Leica Camera
Galleries: AB (Zurich), Adamson (Washington, DC); Amstel (Amsterdam); Pashmin (Hamburg)
Fairs: Pulse Miami 2013; (e)merge Washington, DC 2013; Scope NY 2014
SELECTED PUBLICATION
Chernogirls
DER SPIEGEL (Germany): Post-Sowjet Ära – Chernogirls in der Sperrzone (Minsk – Chernobyl)
La Repubblica (Italy): Le “modelle di Chernobyl” traslocano a New York (NYC)
La Repubblica (Italy): ”Chernogirls”: l’Unione sovietica e le nuove generazioni (Minsk – Chernobyl)
The Leica Camera: Bringing Chernogirls to New York City (NYC)
The Leica Camera: Chernogirls (Minsk – Chernobyl)
Cheek Magazine (France): Les Chernogirls, Nouveau Visage de l’Ukraine (Minsk – Chernobyl)
Seeance Magazine (Germany): Bail Bonds (Chernogirls: NYC)
L’Oeil de la Photographie (France): Marc Erwin Babej – Chernogirls (Minsk – Chernobyl)
Divany (Hungary): Ilyen az, amikor Csernobilba viszik a modelleket (Minsk – Chernobyl)
I-Ref (Germany): Marc Erwin Babej – Chernogirls (Minsk – Chernobyl)
Mask of Perfection
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair: Mask of Perfection, via Adamson Gallery
Harper’s Bazaar (US): Bazaar Goes to Art Basel
Prix de la Photographie Paris: Second Prize, “Fine Art-Professional” category
DER SPIEGEL (Germany): Schönheitschirurg Dr. Frankenstein (Mask of Perfection)
La Repubblica (Italy): La “maschera della perfezione”: i diktat della chirurgia plastica negli scatti di Marc Erwin Babej
Die Presse (Austria): Mask of Perfection: Schönheit vom Band
(e)merge art fair, Washington, DC, 2013 Ed.
The Washington Post: Art Fair Emerges With a Long History (Mask of Perfection)
Lenswork: Mask of Perfection
doc! photo magazine: Mask of Perfection (cover)
LFI (Leica Fotografie International): Mask of Perfection
Documentary Works
Scope Basel 2013, Switzerland
Amstel Gallery, Amsterdam (Africa, Burma, Brazil)
Le Journal de la Photographie (France): Ipanema (image)
The Leica Camera: Rio De Janeiro: A City of Great Contrasts
The Leica Camera : Buddhists in Burma: Timelessness in a Time of Change
doc! photo magazine: Buddhists in Burma: Timelessness in a Time of Change (lead story, p.9)
The Leica Camera: Capturing the Soul of Burma
Lenswork: Garden of Life (Aerials from Southern Africa)
The Leica Camera: Creating Images That Engage and Expand the Viewer’s Consciousness (Africa part 2)
The Leica Camera: Pursuing Art for Art’s Sake (Africa part 1)
