Marinka Masséus is an artist who channels her concepts and feelings into photography. Her work revolves around people and their place in society, with a particular focus on topics of injustice and inequality. Gender equality is a recurring theme in her projects, fueled by her fierce feelings about misogyny and the injustice of it. After finishing her MBA, Marinka's studies in Buddhist Psychology guided her philosophical journey and the FOAC Photo Academy in Amsterdam stimulated her to channel her concepts and feelings into images.

Marinka believes that her photography is a way for her to communicate with the outside world about the topics she cares about, and it is an essential part of her connection to life and a way for her to make sense of the world we live in. She believes that her art is a way of connecting with people, and she is grateful for the moments that they allowed her into their lives.

Marinka identifies as a feminist and believe that feminism means identifying with the rights of all women worldwide. She is aware of her privilege as a white woman in a liberal European country, and she believes that misogyny is still one of the most underestimated inequalities in the world. It is systemic in every culture, race, or religion, and often it is more difficult to recognize gender inequality in one's own culture since one is part of that specific programming.

Marinka is aware of the current backlash towards women becoming more vocal about their rights, and she believes that in some places, this has led to female rights backsliding. However, she is hopeful that a shared consciousness is growing and an awareness of our potential beyond what we were conditioned to believe about ourselves. She believes that only when female energy is just as free as male energy has always been, sexually, intellectually, artistically, emotionally, spiritually, can there be true equality.

UNDER THE SAME SUN

This photo series was created in collaboration with the Josephat Torner Foundation and ‘Stichting Afrikaanse Albino's’ to raise awareness about the circumstances of people with albinism living in Africa, specifically Tanzania.

In Tanzania, when you have albinism, you are thought to be evil. There even is a price on the head of children with albinism since killing a person with albinism is considered to bring good luck. The fears and superstitions surrounding albinism run very deep in Tanzanian society. So deep that many women who give birth to a child with albinism are told to kill the baby at birth. If she refuses, she and the baby will become outcasts.

Many children with albinism are denied the most fundamental of human rights. They are despised and taught that they are evil, that their existence is a curse. They live in constant fear of brutal attacks.

Many of those who have been attacked are young children. In December of 2014, a 4 year-old girl with albinism named Pendo Emmanuelle, was taken from her mother’s arms. Police have yet to find her body. In February 2015, Yohana Bahati, a boy of just 18 months, was taken from his home, his mother’s face slashed with machetes as she tried to protect her son. She narrowly survived. Days later, little Yohana’s body was recovered from a forest, where he was found face down in the mud with his arms and legs hacked off.

Because of killings like this, many children with albinism now live in camps. Rejected by and cut-off from their families, they live separate from society in order to keep them safe. In some of the camps the living circumstances are horrible, with even basic care lacking. And this separation doesn’t solve the problems. It doesn’t help with integration. It doesn’t give them a chance to grow into valued and respected members of society. They are secluded, kept apart, hidden, often mistreated and shamed. That’s why the mission of the Josephat Torner Foundation is social acceptance and inclusion.

Ancient Rythm II
World Indigenous Games, Brazil

At the World Indigenous Games in Brazil, I used long shutter speed to capture the indigenous energy - to paint the athlete’s strength, their speed, their ancient rhythm. The resulting soft images connect us to our roots, to the old drawings in caves dating back to prehistoric times - universal and fundamentally innate to all of us. But, the hazy imagery is also a metaphor for the fact that indigenous people are fading. Everywhere, so-called 'civilization' is closing in on them, stripping them off their land, their food and their way of life.

Their land is being taken, their rights trampled, their way of life is being destroyed and they are being captured and killed. For land, for money, for power, for greed. They are the only humans left on earth who live like our ancestors thousands of years ago. Living off the land, leaving no footprint, in harmony with their environment and with respect to all living things. And they are being annihilated.

I feel that this is one of the most shameful injustices of our times. Future history books will judge the fact that we stood by and did nothing. The indigenous people of the world need our help to protect their way of life and to ensure their lawful claims to their land. But we need them just as much, if not more. Their knowledge of nature, of interconnectedness, of herbal medicine and their ancient wisdom is something we need now more than ever. The joint statement they gave at COP21 in Paris is one of the most powerful and inspirational declarations I ever heard, their wisdom a clear beacon in troubled times. They are our last connection to our roots. To our collective ancient rhythm. We have a fundamental obligation to them - and ourselves - to ensure they do not fade away.

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Photographize granted permission to feature photos by Marinka Masseus

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