"As a photographer I try to see how everything is connected. The interaction between people, with their home and their environment. The world is an ecosystem and every species, every place, every person belongs to it. More and more, this ingenious system is getting out of balance: people are unrooted, nature is destroyed, connections are forgotten. This is why I want to understand what motivates people to do what they do, why they chose to live how they live and how this impacts the whole system. My aim is to observe, collect, document and share the diversity, the multidude of possible ideas, points of view and values, so that one can question their own beliefs and reflect their actions."
"Magdalena Menzinger works as a freelance photographer since 2017. Her photographic work focuses on making portraits of the diverse surrounding realms, experimenting with special papers and printing techniques in her studio. The artist captures moments of stillness and naturalness in people, plants and buildings, expressing a striking simplicity, distilling moods, thoughts, characters and political messages in her compositions. For the past five years she has spent most of her time in Transylvania, Romania, documenting nature, heritage and the life happening in the villages, both of' old and new locals. In this sense, her work takes its reference from that of the traveling photographers of the early 20th century; it is a singular and precious documentation that will remain in the history of the region as an anthropological x-ray of these times of change."
(Marlene Herbert, KraftMade)
Magdalena Menzinger showed her works in various group and solo exhibitions as well as in a multitude of publications. Recently, she conceptualized and curated an exhibition in Romania (Open Landscape Now!). For this exhibition, she has also created an artistic installation inspired by the dioramas found in natural history museums, crossing the boundaries of photography to give the public a glimpse into the life behind her fascinating images. Her recent master’s studies in European cultural heritage help her to unterstand how past and future, tradition and innnovation are connected.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & PUBLICATIONS
2025: Urme care ne poarta, Exhibition curated by KraftMade, contribution with photographs, @Museum in Progress, Cincu, Romania
2025: Transcarpathia, photographs of activists in Transcarpathia during the russian invasion (March - April 2022), @Fincan, Berlin
2025: Plant Portraits, project with focus on High Nature Value indicator plants for dry grasslands, @Coco Senol, Berlin
2024: It takes a whole village, Exhibition curated by KraftMade, contribution with photographs and text, @Museum in Progress, Cincu, Romania
2024: Peisaj Deschis ACUM, exhibition about the threats to the cultural landscape in Podisul Hartibaciului, a project by Forum Peisaj Deschis, concept, photography, text and documentation, @Moara Veche, Hosman, Romania
2023: TransFORT, exhibition curated by Forum Peisaj Deschis about threats of the cultural landscape in Podisul Hartibaciului, photographic contribution, @Fortified Church Apold, Romania
2022: Apold Heritage Lab, Summer School, concept, coordination, documentation, publication design & layout, @Fortified Church Apold, Romania
2022: Trascarpathia, photographs of activists in Transcarpathia during the russian invasion (March - April 2022), @Moara Veche, Hosman, Romania
2022: Aktionskongress Ukraine, photographs and documentation about the work of activists from the European collective Longo Mai in Transcarpathia during the russian invasion (March - April 2022), photos and text, @STRAZE, Greifswald, Germany
2022: Oameni la lucru în casele lor, Editura Universitara „Ion Mincu, photographic contribution for KraftMade
2021: (re)inventing Transylvania, insights @NAG (Noapte Alba a galeriilor), Sibiu, Romania
2021: (re)inventing Transylvania, insights @Moara Veche, Hosman, Romania
2021: Salvand Cultura Celuilalt, a project about a traditional romanian blouse (cercetarea iei cu altita), a project by Asociatia Monumentum, photographic work for the book Salvand Cultura Celuilalt, published 2021
2021: Ad-hoc Digitalisierung, an exhibition about people redefining their private and professional lives during the Covid-19 Pandemic, concept, photopgraphs and text, @Guardini90, Munich
2020: Beta - Timișoara Architecture Biennial, photographic contribution for KraftMade
2020: Slow living cu KraftMade, photographic contribution for igloo.ro
2020: PhotoPresse (PP 02 2020), photographs and text
2020: Mensch und Maschine, a photographic essay about how artificial intelligence changes our perception of humanity, group exhibition, @Guardini90, Munich
2019: Faces of Iran, a series of photographic portraits, Iran, @Paradies Possenhofen, Germany
2018: Artifizielle Artefakte, a study about information overload, @Bücher Krugg, Munich
2018: Farbulous, a group exhibition about color, @Färberei München, Munich
