Marko Zink

Marko Zink only takes analog photographs with natural lighting. The carrier material – analog film – is multiply boiled before exposure and, for some series, deliberately chemically and mechanically manipulated. This technique, which he developed, is his unique signature with high recognition value. He describes the resulting disintegration of the negatives as a purposeful conceptual process, calling into question the main criteria of photography as a bearer of memory and record.

In his works, Zink reinterprets the subject of staged photography. On one hand, he gives the viewer the sense of having become an accidental witness to this “fleeting” moment. On the other, he restages the subjects as objects, and vice versa.

Zink tinkers with reality. He assembles the ostensibly unrelated; he amalgamates. Thus, humans are coupled with animals, and humans with machines, humans with furniture, humans with nature. In his work series Swimmers, the human being is completely negated as a carrier of meaning, floating as an empty shell under water, while at the same time illustrating the origin of species.

Many of his series are based on interdisciplinary concepts. He borrows his theories from literature – including explorations of Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Nobel laureate in literature Elfriede Jelinek. The latter plays an important role in Zink’s life. Work series that are influenced by the Austrian writer in different ways sneak into his work presentations via multiple media.

His photographs and installations have been shown in museums and galleries around the world. His works are included in numerous internationally renowned collections. Marko Zink lives and works in Vienna, Austria.