Błażej Marczak is a documentary photographer based in Ottawa, Canada. He works mainly within the urban environment and convey his subjective observations using modest visual language. When photographing a landscape or creating a portraiture series he is considering many transformative socio-economic forces influencing the society, ourselves and the built environment we live in.
His aim is to use the camera to document rather than amplify his supposedly mundane subjects. Błażej’s aesthetics and content are driven by his interests and ideas rooted in Realism rather than Romanticism.
Between working on his self assigned projects and producing prints he is busy creating images for his clients, assisting to other photographers and looking for new local and international collaborations. Both artistic and commercial.
Błażej pronounces as Bwagey
Education:
2008 – 2012 BA in Professional Photography, The University of Abertay, Dundee, Scotland
Past group exhibitions and events:
Nov 2019 Signal: 2019 Additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection, City Hall, Ottawa, Canada
July 2018 Nothing Left To Be Saved, FORT Institute of Photography, Warsaw, Poland
Apr 2018 FLOW Photofest Wall, Eden Court theatre, Inverness, Scotland
Nov 2017 - Longevity: 2017 Additions to the City of Ottawa Art Collection, City Hall, Ottawa, Canada
Oct 2017 - Artspeaks, Shepherds of Good Hope , City Hall, Ottawa, Canada
Sept 2017 - Chinatown Remixed , Little Latin America, Ottawa, Canada
May 2017 – Zeitgeist part of Diffusion: International Festival of Photography, Cardiff, UK
Apr 2017 – Ambit: Photographies from Scotland, Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, Scotland
Apr 2016 – Eastern European Performance in Scotland: The Legacy of Richard Demarco, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
Oct 2015 – Origins, PhotoUK- India, British Council, New Delhi, India
Sept 2015 – Odyssean- Artist Talk, Unit 7 & Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Scotland
Sept 2015 – Odyssean- Unusual artist residencies on Orkney, Unit 7, Wyre, Scotland
May 2015 – 4/4, Curated by The Forgotten Collective, Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Apr 2015 – Documenting Britain, Feis, Trongate 103 / Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow, Scotland
Feb 2015 – Migration Matters, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Edinburgh, Scotland
Jan 2015 – RGU’s Got Talent, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland
Dec 2014 – Transnational Biographies, Scottish Universities Insight Institute, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland
Nov 2014 – Poles Apart?, Being Human Festival, University of Aberdeen / Satrosphere, Aberdeen, Scotland
Sept 2014 – Celebrating Europe, European Prospects, Kaunas Photography Gallery, Lithuania
Apr 2014 – Frames 2014, Talk See Photography, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, Scotland
Nov 2013 – Traverse Fifty, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland
Oct 2013 – Quality of Everyday Life, Polish Contemporary Art Group, Sumerhall, Edinburgh, Scotland
June 2013 – Surfing the Don, Seventeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
May 2013 – Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland
Mar 2013 – Photography, Participation and the Politics of Space, Engage & NEPAN Symposium, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
Mar 2013 – Annual Open Exhibition, The Society of Scottish Artists, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
Nov 2012 – Royal Scottish Academy Open Exhibition, RSA Lower Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Nov 2012 – SoShowMe, The Printspace, London, U.K.
June 2012 – Free Range, Art&Design Show, The Old Truman Brewery, London, U.K.
June 2012 – Exposed 2012- Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
June 2011 – Exposed 2011- Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
June 2011 – Paris Exposé, French Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland
May 2011 – Leonardo Da Vinci Mobility Project, CAMPUS, Paris, France
Mar 2003 – Impressions and Landscapes by Blazej Marczak, Youth European Educational Centre, Poddebice, Poland
Awards:
Oct 2014 – #DocumentYourWorld, First Prize, Impressions Gallery, Bradford, U.K.
Nov 2013 – Jill Todd Photographic Award, Shortlisted, Edinburgh, Scotland
Apr 2013 – The Arts Trust Scotland, Awarded Monetary Grant, Edinburgh, Scotland
Feb 2013 – Self Portrait Competition, Third Prize, Theprintspace, London, U.K.
Sept 2012 – International Photography Awards, Two Honourable Mentions, Los Angeles, USA
May 2011 – BIPP Student Awards, Shortlisted, British Institute of Professional Photography Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland