Maja Daniels

01.02.2012

Just back from a few weeks in Israel where I have been focusing on difficult and frustrating issues in east Jerusalem.

Coming home, I was greeted with some good news as I found out that I am a finalist winner of the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards with my twins series.

(I am a finalist for the People category in the Photojournalism and Documentary section.) Read more about it here.

There’s also a nice piece written by Diane Smyth on the twins project in this months issue of the British Journal of Photography.  Makes it nice to be home!

02.01.2012

I am happy to be Januarys’ featured photographer on the Firecracker website. The site is run by Fiona Rogers and promotes female photographers in Europe. The featured project is my series of twins Mady and Monette and its accompanied by a text written by Rebecca McClelland; Photo Editor at New Statesman Magazine, Deputy Director of The Ian Parry Scholarship and an identical twins herself. Click here to see the feature and to read the text. Below is a short extract.

Maja Daniels:  images of intimacy and identity by Rebecca McClelland

Two of the most profound nuances of being an identical twin are the complex nature of identity and intimacy, the kind of intensity of which Maja Daniels captures so well in her series of portraits of identical twins Monette and Mady. The gentle physical closeness within the images, their coalescent bodies share a constant touch or whisper a secret word. Their matching outfits betray their analogous condition. We know that identity is created by both nature and nurture, genetically and environmentally. As humans we believe ourselves to be unique and aspire to gain control of our destiny. Our aim is to form deep personal relationships and make connections beyond a singular life. Yet as a twin, these destinies are resolved even before birth, you are given a life partner the moment you are born.

29.10.2011

The picture below from my project “Mady and Monette” has been selected to be part of Daniel Cooney’s 2011 Emerging Artists Auction. Daniel runs the Daniel Cooney Fine Art gallery in New York that specializes in contemporary photography.

The online auction runs from October 28th to November 11th, click here to have a look at the wonderful selection of images.

I’m very happy to be part of such a nice project along with lovely friends and photographers Kalpesh Lathigra, Spencer Murphy and Kate Peters who’s work I admire.

03.10.2011

A portrait from my project with Monette and Mady was published in yesterday’s Sunday Times Magazine as they highlighted the upcoming Taylor Wessing Exhibition. Lovely looking spread.

22.09.2011

Aurelia Lange over at the Urban Graphic blog posted about my series “Into Oblivion”. I like the way she writes about the series :

“This locked door is significant in this series as many of the patients are regularly attempting to leave. Due to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s being memory loss and to regularly wander, the ward must keep a restriction in place. The door is a strong metaphor for Maja’s suggestion that the increasing dependency of the elderly population is a taboo amongst our society.

Amongst some haunting portraits, many of the photographs are cropped or do not include patients faces. The cropped images speak volume as they communicate less about the individual being photographed and more about the subject matter on a broader scale, by giving room for people to identify themselves within the context.

The low saturated pastel colours and the stark minimal environment creates a strange correlation to their existence as the residents’ memories fade, and personal possessions become less meaningful.”

Have a look at the post here : http://www.urbangraphic.co.uk/blog/m/maja-daniels.html