Marvel Harris

Marvel Harris (b. 1995) is a photographer born and raised in the Netherlands. Their deeply personal photographic work draws from their lived experience as an autistic, transgender individual who identifies as genderqueer, addressing ongoing mental health challenges primarily through self-portraiture.

While suffering from an eating disorder and depression, Harris started capturing themself with a camera to manage emotions they could not adequately put into words. Observing their life unfold through their work, they realized how photography helps them understand their own complex identity. The resulting self-portraits, which communicate with a raw honesty, are part of their ongoing long-term project entitled Inner Journey. Stemming from a personal desire to connect with the world around them, this autobiographical story, where photography and everyday life entwine and merge, invites others to participate in their vulnerability, offering them an insight into the artist’s mind.

Harris graduated from the Nederlandse Fotovakschool in Apeldoorn in 2018 and was awarded the Keep an Eye Fotovakschool Grant for best photographic work and most original project plan. Harris has since won several accolades with their work, including the Zilveren Camera prize in the documentary category (2018). They featured in LensCulture’s Emerging Talent Awards 2019 as well as Foam Talents 2022, and their work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam and the South London Gallery. Their photographs are represented in several private and public institutions such as the Art Collection Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK. Their book MARVEL (self-published, 2020) was awarded the MACK First Book Award and republished to critical acclaim in 2021. In 2023, Harris was the recipient of the RPS Award for Achievement in the Art of Photography (under 35yrs).