The word “origins” refers both to my own source, my family, and to my discovery of the power of making pictures. I search for the beauty in the ordinary, the melodies in the commonplace. I photograph subjects that are quiet yet evoke an emotional intensity. I am fascinated by the universality of the individual, and look to capture in pictures the thing that hooks me into my subject. A photograph exists within it’s own context, just like a memory. Looking intently and intimately at my own surroundings and relationships, my intention is to make images that have the power to reflect and deepen the viewer’s own relationship to the world. Ultimately, my photographs are an investigation made out of love for the individual and the medium.

Monika Merva