THIS BRUTAL WORLD

This Brutal World Explores the Duality of Life Through Photos of Fading Flowers

(Oct 16, Sharon, CT) - On the heels of a very successful exhibition of medium-format portraits of New York City performers earlier this year, photographer Maria Baranova has now trained the lens of her Hasselblad on a subject every bit as ethereal, dynamic and dramatic - cut flowers on a slow march to death.

The images are dignified and striking, and inspire much deeper thought on intention, ceremony and humankind's effect on its environment.

This current body of work arose organically when Baranova was working on photos of the downtown NYC performing arts community. After finding some flowers arranged in the bathroom of her shared studio space in Gowanus, Brooklyn, cut flowers began to appear everywhere.

In between portrait sessions with her human subjects, Baranova began shooting some of the flowers in a similar style and light.

Exhibited:

• This Brutal World / Standard Space / 2019