Artist’s BioMarianna Winterdale was born and raised in the former Yugoslavia. As a child she spent hours gazing at old faded family photos. These barely recognizable portraits, peppered with “flowers” created by water damage found in such ephem… — **Artist’s Bio**
**Marianna Winterdale** was born and raised in the former Yugoslavia, where her fascination with memory began in childhood—drawn to faded family photographs, their surfaces marred by time and softened by water into flower-like blooms. These ghostly portraits, blurred and marked by age, became a gateway to imagined stories and lost histories.
At fourteen, her father gifted her a Zorki-4 camera, a beautifully crafted relic of the Soviet 1970s. Paired with a cherished photo of her grandfather, Jovan Kanuric—his figure partially obscured by the same tender “flowers” of water damage—these two objects became sacred touchstones. They remain her only possessions from the country she left behind.
In New York City, Marianna studied under photographer **Flash Light** and continued her artistic training at **Cooper Union** and the **New York Institute of Photography**. Her work—rooted in themes of memory, impermanence, and the poetry of the overlooked—has been exhibited in group shows across **New York City, Croatia, and Japan**. She is an active presence in New York’s vibrant artistic community.

About

Artist's Statement

Photography, for me, is an act of storytelling—an attempt to translate the manifested reality before me into a visual narrative. Each image is a moment observed, framed, and captured through the lens, offering a glimpse into the layered world we share.

I draw continuous inspiration from the world as it is: the best of all possible worlds—majestic and flawed, fleeting and resilient. Its constant transformation and quiet surprises compel me to observe closely and respond with my camera.

In this practice, I see myself as an observer and a humble visual storyteller, seeking not to define, but to reveal.