Martin Marenčin was born 1956 in Bratislava in the family of a surrealist & pataphysicist (pataphysics, a philosophy dedicated to studying what lies beyond the realm of metaphysics). 1981 graduated at the Electrotechnical Faculty, Technical University, Bratislava and worked 10 years at the Slovak radio. Since 1992 has been working as a freelance photographer doing documentary and portrait work. In time of an absence of documentary photography in the Slovak media, he founded the NGO Slovak Documentary Photography which promotes socio-documentary projects and addresses life in Slovakia. From 2001-2004 won six awards (three 1st prizes) at the CZECH PRESS PHOTO and FUJI € PRESS PHOTO AWARDS competitions. For his project "Slowly Slovakia" received in 2003 the stipendium Vaculik Advertising and 2004 Transatlantic Culture Exchange, Credit Suisse Masterclass for Photojournalists from CEE.

Individual shows (selection)
2006 "Slowly Slovakia", Oravská galéria, Dolný Kubín, SK; Slovak Institute, Prague, CZ; 2005 "Slowly Slovakia", Galéria Štefana Prokopa, Pezinok, SK; 2004 "Slowly Slovakia", Galéria Profil, Bratislava, SK; 1993 Photos, Festival du Pied, Die, F; 1992 Portraits, Junior klub na Chmelnici, Prague, CZ; 1990 November-December 1989, Avranches, F; 1989 November-December 1989, Mozart's House, Bratislava, SK; 1985 Young Bratislava's Photography, Komorná galéria fotografie, Bratislava, SK.

Group shows (selection as of 2001)
2006 A a first one always the third one, Galéria GUBA, Bratislava, SK; 2005 Borders, Galéria VEŽA, Bratislava, SK; As a first one always the third one, Galéria Jána Koniarka, Trnava, SK; Nitrianska galéria, Nitra, SK; Považská galéria umenia, Žilina, SK; Slovakia through the lens of documentary photographers, Circulo de Bellas Artes, Sala Antonio Palacios, Madrid, E; As a first one always the second one, State Gallery Banská Bystrica, SK; Východoslovenská galéria, Košice, SK; 2004 Fujifilm Euro Press Photo Awards 2004, Bratislava, SK; Slovakia through the lens of documentary photographers, Galerie 1+2, Schloss Wolkersdorf, Austria; Dom Aktjorov, Moscow, Russia; 2003 8x3, Exhibition of the Slovak documentary photography group, Sydney, Australia; Fujifilm Euro Press Photo Awards 2003, Bratislava, SK; The best with Mum & Dad, Galéria Jána Koniarka, Trnava, SK; Slovakia through the lens of documentary photographers, Instituco Slovacco, Roma, I; Complex Des Jardins, Montreal, Canada; House of Photography, Poprad, SK; 2002 Czech Press Photo 2002, Prague, CZ; 8x3, Exhibition of the Slovak documentary photography group, Commune di Povoletto, I; Nové Město nad Metují, CZ; The best with Mum & Dad, Bratislava + Košice, SK; Banská Bystrica + Žilina, SK; Rodinný album.sk, Múzeum Bruntál, CZ; City Gallery, Nitra, SK; State Gallery Banská Bystrica, SK; Oravská galéria, Dolný Kubín, SK; 2001 Rodinný album.sk, Galéria UBS, Bratislava, SK; Czech Press Photo 2001, Prague, CZ; 8x3, Exhibition of the Slovak documentary photography group, Galéria Ľudovej banky, Bratislava, SK

Martin Marenčin has been significantly formed by the environment in which he grew up. Thus the principle of interchange between dream and reality can be identified in his photographs. However, his work's focus is on the unarranged expression of documentary photography. Already his early photographs made in the 1970's at exaggerated communist-style celebrations determined the center of his work. In the cycle Slowly Slovakia the ideological symbols of power have been replaced by fetishes of mass consumption. He offers a general view of our society, making use of his visually sophisticated, sarcastic and ironical images. To put it in his own words: The present era is equally absurd to me as the past one. Whereas the author only used the black and white process for his personal photographs, today his work is a flood of aggressive colors. With his disillusioned view of the society Martin Marenčin is closer to the photographers of the rough, so-called New York-school, or to the sociologizing new English document. Martin Marenčin deserves the predicate concerned photographer in the young Slovak documentary photography. (Excerpts on a statement on Martin Marenčin by J.O.)

Right-hand pictures
Martin Marenčin: SLOWLY SLOVAKIA 2001-2004

Marenčin documents a "slowly" Slovakia at anonymous events, where "you do not stick out and are tolerated as part of the local colour." He has a fascination for mass events - traditional folk events, rock concerts, disco parties. The contrastive colours turn a usual episode into a consumer and commercial billboard, standing in opposition to the imitation of old traditions captured by the photograph. "Times have finally changed, people are, however, altered not fast but rather slowly, as an Englishman would say. Old ways of thinking are being slowly transformed into new ones. The antiquated is gradually dwindling while the new, the modern is slowly on the rise. I find the present times as absurd as the previous ones. I love black-and-white photography but I fell that the colour absurdity fits better to visually express the present times. Could it be that colours in my photos are somewhat odd? My project is an ironic one, perhaps even sarcastic. And I could not put up with real colours for this purpose. I wish to give my pictures a consumer and commercial appearance. When I used to cover traditional folk festivals, I had musicians in every picture. Now, they appear only in a single shot. It just happened this way. Everything was giving me a somehow "plastic" feeling. The absurd world of advertising within the context of ancient traditions. Stalls, umbrellas, plastic cups, billboards. Let us have no illusions about what we really are like."