JONATHAN CHERRY: What gets you up in the morning?
MARNIX VAN UUM: My alarm and in the weekends my girlfriend. She’s really good at waking up early on a day off.
JC: Are there any emerging photographers inspiring you at the moment?
MU: Wessel Baarda. Not only is he a good photographer, he’s also a great friend. But like I said in previous interviews, I’m mostly inspired by things around me, things I read, hear, see. I’ve been very into postmodern philosophers for some time now. The idea that most of the things we experience is culturally defined is stuck in my head and I can’t seem to get it out because I feel like everything I see is substantiating that statement. Let’s hope it’s just a phase, haha. But yeah, those kind of things inspire me - they get me thinking.
JC: What is your current project all about?
MU: In my current project I’m trying to capture ordinary things, things we regard as ordinary, in a different context to show that what we consider as ‘normal’ shouldn’t be considered as ‘normal’. Why have we given that meaning to that object or that act? We are capable of giving meaning to things, so we should be embracing this by placing ‘ordinary’ things in different frameworks.
JC: What draws you to making portraits?
MU: I don’t know why I’m so drawn to making portraits. I just like people more than nature and no, people aren’t part of nature anymore.
JC: How do you find juggling personal & commercial work?
MU: I haven’t done much commercial work. In fact, I’ve only done one fashion shoot of a collection for a friend of mine, but I thought it was horrible. It just didn’t work out the way I wanted it, there was too much time pressure and the location wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I hope I’ll never have to do anything commercial again.
JC: Any advice to recent photography graduates?
MU: Stay true to your ideologies and don’t let anyone’s vision get in your way. And don’t get sucked in a major corporation. Promoting your work is also important.
JC: Favourite tree?
MU: Genetically modified trees.
