Maria Oliveira
- Michael Hanna
- May 2
- 2 min read
Maria Oliveira is a self-portrait photographer who has exhibited across the United States and internationally in Barcelona, Rome, and Budapest. Recent exhibitions include Fotonostrum Gallery in Spain, Huntington Beach Art Center in California, SE Center for Photography in Greenville, South Carolina, Decode Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, BG Gallery in Santa Monica, Space - Milepiani in Rome, PH21 Gallery in Budapest, and Limner Gallery in Hudson, New York. She has received recognition from awards such as the Fine Art Photography Awards, Tokyo International Tokyo Awards, and Julia Margaret Cameron Award. Maria’s publications include Float and Dodo magazines.
Although Maria Oliveira’s photographs may seem like she shoots on location, they are actually composite photographs shot in a studio within her home containing self portraits and edited in Photoshop. The end result contains photographs which seem dark, apocalyptic, and dream-like. From dismal, red and purple clouds erupting in electrical storms in the sky to other-worldy dimensions with Maria floating in the nude, these fantastical environments instill a sense of drama and theatrics. Other photographs contain illusory industrial architecture and dreary, enchanted forests with Maria stuck inside the bark or an ominous hand reaching out.
These imaginative photographs reveal an inner psychology of an ominous mind wandering the universe. The images appear like fourth-dimensional planes and scenes out of a fantasy novel or post-modern theatrical production. Maria reveals a sense of vulnerability with presentations of herself in the nude or in compromised poses. Other demonstrations reveal a sinister or grandiose side with Maria portraying herself like a witch, banshee, goddess, titan, or ghost. Like an apparition, her spirit seems to haunt these fantastical imagined, staged environments revealing a sense of extensive narrative of mystery, the macabre, supernatural tendencies, and suspense.The intense realism of the photography and convincing nature of the backdrops as if shot on location reveal environments of great creativity which invoke interactions regarding nature and the open atmosphere. With sfumato and high contrast, the scenery may invoke images of Baroque or Renaissance paintings from great masters.
La Yerba del Diablo (Datura) (pictured above) which means ‘devil’s eyes’ in English remains a haunting self-portrait piece depicting Maria as a nude witch, complete with broom floating in another dimension pushing through the blood-red sky. She notably covers her face as if her appearance were disturbing or if to shield herself from the gaze of the viewer. A deeply cerebral piece which reveals a sense of exploration of the darkest parts of the mind.
Maria Oliveira creates refined, fantastical environments which reveal characters shaped from just one model: herself. With a sense of theatrics and ominous lighting, she engages with environments like a mythological creature or character brought forth from another world or ancient times. She seems to haunt these environments or perhaps the scenes penetrate her psyche revealing a fragility and yearning to escape reality. In essence, all fantasy contains a desire to either reshape reality in one's own image or to break from the confines of actuality. Maria Oliveira can be described as an artist who enhances the imagination of the viewer and drives the audience towards reimagining nature and otherworldly environments beyond the confines of familiarity and into a realm of great exploration as well as self-reflection.
