In the Northern part of Namibia live many female Angolan refugees.
They sought refuge from the brutal Angolan Civil war which lasted
from 1975 -when Angola got independent from Portugal- until 2002.
Before that, Angola was torn apart for decades in an armed struggle
for independence. This country and its people faced over 40 years of
violence and war.
This series visualizes the psychological impact of being torn between
two countries when forced to live somewhere else due to war and
violence. Every day carrying the memories of the horrors as well as
the love and longing for one's motherland.
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.
Gender equality is a main theme running through Marinka’s work. She feels strongly about the importance of raising this subject and she just returned from Iran where she worked on two photography projects concerning the position of women.
Marinka's acclaim includes: Lucie Award - IPA Photographer of the Year 2016 - LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017, Winner Juror's Pick - 10th Annual Color Awards 'Photographer of the Year', 2nd place - 1st place winner Color Awards - 2x Silver and 2x Bronze at TIFA Tokyo Awards 2016 - LifeFramer 3rd place - 2nd place ND Awards 2016 - 2x winner 1st place IPA 2016 - 2x winner 2nd place IPA 2016 - Exhibition at Gallery 'Beeldend Gesproken', Amsterdam - 2x Silver winner and 1x Bronze winner Px3 2016 - Px3 Exhibition in Paris - 1st place Monochrome Photography Awards - Exhibition at Atelier Alen, Munich, Germany - Featured at ArtWest, Amsterdam - 2x winner 2nd place MIFA "Moscow International Foto Awards" 2015 - 2nd place BW SpiderAwards - Merit of Excellence - "IPA Best of Show Exhibition" New York - 2x winner 2nd place IPA "International Photography Awards" 2015 - Gold winner at Px3 2015 - 3x Silver and 1x Bronze winner at Px3 2015 - Exhibition at WM Gallery, Amsterdam - Photoville 2015 New York - International Photo Festival Leiden 2015 - 1st place International Color Awards - Featured at the Royal Geographical Society in London - IPA 2014 2nd place - Linden Museum Stuttgart - GUP New Dutch Talent 2014
Awards New Dutch Talent 2014
Exhibition Linden Museum Stuttgart, Germany- June 2014
Published 1x.com Yearbook Passion - Dec 2013
3 times shortlisted TPOTY Travel Photographer of the Year 2013
2nd Prize Photographer of the Year 2013, Zoom Magazine
