Olga Merrill is a visual artist primarily using the medium of photography. She was born in the Far East of Russia, on April 9th, 1971 and grew up there until June of 1988.
She graduated from Samara State University of Economics in 1992 and Samara State University in 1996. She lived and worked in Russia until March of 2013 when came to Maine, USA and life changed. At the end of 2015 her life changed even more – she got a photo camera and her view of the world became different through lenses. Photography was a hobby for her father, and she remembers the smell of chemicals from being with him in his darkroom. Who knew that after more than 35 years from her first brief touch of photography, she would become an artist and visual art started playing a significant role in her life.
Olga says, seemingly playfully, that she hardly recognizes herself as a photographer. Instead, she says, she uses photography as a tool – like an instrument to make music or a brush for painting – to create an image of her vision, with a dreamy and indirect relationship to external reality. She does this in varying styles. Some images are essentially representative photography of the world around her that nevertheless dissolve into the wonder of abstract pattern, while others are complex manipulations of the ordinary visual world that use intentional camera movement, multiple exposures, and well planned color pallets to reflect her vision, dreams and feelings – and resonate with ours.
One of her favorite quotes comes from photographer Diane Arbus: “A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know.”
Olga’s limited and open edition prints are available at galleries and held by private collectors throughout the world.
Memberships:
Griffin Museum of Photography
Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Representation by:
