About me

Micaela Mau (born 1986) is a German-Italian artist.
She majored in visual communication at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome – studying briefly at the School of Visual Arts in New York – and earned a Bachelor of Arts in foreign languages at the Università degli Studi Roma Tre.
She started photographing without any formal training, making it ultimately her primary mode of expression. The core of her work is focused on the relationship between photography and reality, reflecting also on the common perceptions and the social conventions associated with the photographic medium. More recently she has started to explore modes of expression that are influenced by her linguistic studies.
She currently lives and works in Berlin.
About my work

To me photography is not only a tool to capture fleeting impressions in time and share what caught my attention, but also, and above all, a means of interpreting and reinterpreting reality.
My photographic work comprises abstract images that put the bond between photographic reproduction and its referent to the test, often making the original subject almost indistinguishable. Alongside these works I develop more realistic projects concerning our perception of the world and how it is conveyed through photography.
Lately I have started to work with analog media, reflecting on the materiality of photographs and negatives, rather than considering them mere image supports.
My work is founded on the belief that there is no such thing as an objective photograph. Photography cannot depict reality accurately since the human element – intrinsically fallible and predisposed to subjective perception – pervades all stages of photographic development. Furthermore, the laws of physics, optics and chemistry, pose technical limitations, constraining the medium’s ability to accurately record reality. Last but not least, there’s chance, an unpredictable force capable of influencing the best planned outcomes.
Photography, therefore, cannot but be a medium of subjective expression. For this reason I try to embrace the limitations at hand and to make them an integral part of my work.
Artworks are available as limited edition prints, professionally printed on museum quality archival paper. Each print is signed and numbered on the reverse and ships with a certificate of authenticity.
Feel free to contact me to inquire about prints or to just say hi, by writing to mail@micaelamau.com
Find older projects here