Atop a hill in Carthage, one of the finest locations in the Tunis area, stands a villa that belonged to the Trabelsi – the family of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s wife. Ben Ali’s nepotism – particularly toward the Trabelsi clan – had been the primary cause for his downfall. During the revolution, the villa was ransacked and covered in political graffiti.
As these four young secular women explore this microcosm of Tunisia today, they are not identifiable as members of a particular ethnicity or religion, but rather as belonging to a diffuse Mediterranean civilization. Save, perhaps, for the falcons, which are particularly prized in the Arab world, they could be French, Italian or Greek.
Yet, unlike young women on the Northern shores of the Mediterranean, they can't take their place in society for granted. Their presence in the Trabelsi villa sheds light on difficult years past, the uncertainties of the present, and their hopes for a brighter future.
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)
