Marc Ohrem-Leclef

PROVENANCE: Courtesy of the Artist

The ongoing project Zameen Asmaan Ka Farq (‘As far apart as the Earth is from the Sky’) documents the culture of touch between Indian men who live at the intersections of homosocial culture, friendship and love through photographs and texts.

Marc Ohrem-Leclef (German, based in Brooklyn, NY) is a lens-based artist who works in response to socio-political histories that veil inequalities. His collaborative practice moves between documentary and performative modes to construct alternative humanistic representations and narratives that address issues of identity and belonging. He earned a BA in Communication Design at the Darmstadt University (Germany), before relocating to New York City where he founded an advertising photography studio. After more than a decade, a life-changing experience renewed Ohrem-Leclef’s focus on personal long term projects.

In ‘Olympic Favela’ (2012-16, photography/video), he collaborated with residents of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas to create interventional gestures to visualize their resistance against forced evictions from their homes ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games. The resulting book and short documentary titled were released internationally. Engaging more deeply with his personal journey, ‘Zameen Asmaan Ka Farq’ (ongoing; photography/text/audio) documents the fluid forms of love between men in India, and the challenges to traditional fluidities today.

His work has been exhibited in Brazil, Germany, India, Israel, Slovakia. Spain, the Netherlands, UK and US. It is held in the collections of Museo de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro. Select reviews include Artnews, Artforum, British Journal of Photography, CityLab, Hyperallergic, Der Spiegel, GUP, Slate, Out.

In 2018 he was invited to a fellowship at MacDowell; teaching engagements include Columbia University, New School, CUNY and SVA.