In 1999, Marco van Duyvendijk graduated in psychology but knew that his heart was in photography. He took one year off and moved to Rumania, which was foreign to him, to teach himself to become a good photographer. He documented daily village life by taking portraits and shooting celebrations, monasteries and funerals. In these works, he introduces children — a newborn baby swaddled snugly in a blanket, a girl blowing a bubble with bubblegum, and warmly dressed children out sledging in the snow. They seem far away from the world of overflowing toys and internet games. These tranquil images expressed in monochrome offer a sense of peace as if listening to music.

– Tsuguo Tada Juror, Hariban Award 2014

Bio

Born in 1974 in the Netherlands. Marco van Duyvendijk taken many photographs while traveling through Eastern Europe and Asia. His work has been published and exhibited in many places in the Netherlands and abroad. He has also published several photo books. In 2014, he published a small photobook about Riko, a butoh dancer in Kyoto. He is currently working on new projects in Indonesia.