Marnya Rothe

Marnya is a widely published photographic artist known for her revealing and authentic portraits of artists and performers and her playful feminist photographic art series Cut Out which was the product of her photographic thesis.

Her new work explores our collective disconnection from the natural world through a reimagining of portraiture photography.

This work replaces human subjects with found organic objects such as shells, beetles, exoskeletons and snake skins. Here these elements, typically overlooked as debris or classified as ‘specimens’, are elevated to portrait ‘sitter’. By applying the visual language of portraiture, Marnya invites viewers to explore the sitters with curiosity – as carriers of their own life-story.

The work seeks to challenge anthropocentric perspectives while offering a quiet, reflective space to reconnect with the natural environment. They are both acts of observation and gestures of care that bridge the gap between human experience and the natural world.