ABOUT Caroline Alida

For her photography, Caroline Alida is being led by topics of her own interest. As by coincidence she follows a certain path, as a kind of serendipity. All her projects are developed around a theme and are the result of years of work.

In general, she focuses on human interest photography of marginal people. The latter present themselves in their own habitat, yet not active. Most of her pictures are made in poor ambient light, marked in a dramatic, sensitive way. The sober, often dark black and white portraits, have been stripped of all superfluities, and in this way evoke a contemplative atmosphere. These mesmerising close-up portraits show in a peculiar way the inner world of vulnerable, seeking, musing or proud people.

Her portraits are far from snapshots. The portrayed people are never by accident in front of her camera, she got acquainted with them before. In front of the camera, the people were relaxed and even occupied with inner thoughts. She masters a slow kind of photography. Her work is a mix of both analog and digital photography.

With tireless efforts she captured the striking faces of shamans of Niger, West-Africa, where she has stayed countless times. Her books Bori, Healers of the Soul and Compelling Faces are witness to this. For the price of a beer and Young, in Niger show other facets of the African culture.

Caroline Alida is also the author of Hearings Songs in Pine Trees – Shamans of Eastern Siberia. For three years in a row she was in Tuva, Buryatia and the Irkutsk Oblast where shamanism is experiencing a revival.

Recently she was selected by LensCulture to participate in an intensive Masterclass Visual StoryTelling. As a result, story and environment have gained more importance in her recent work, like Here, where we belong.

Her works have were shown in several places. For a selection see EXHIBITIONS.

For her publications, see BOOKS