Marianne Gast. The camera is merely a machine
A premiere retrospective of the German photographer's lens on Mexico, exploring her photojournalism, experimentation, and artistic vision
Image Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Raquel Miguel Soto, Alfonso Navarrete, Alejandro Zepeda and Ana Victoria Pichardo Cruz
Marianne takes her own portrait
Before becoming a photographer, Marianne was her own first model. In her self-portraits, she observes, experiments, and reflects. The camera allows her to construct her physicality, rehearse gestures, and assert herself as an author through a self-aware gaze.
Beyond the camera, what matters is the eye.
Marianne recalls that photography is created with the body, with intuition, experience, and the decisions that precede and follow the shot.
Gast didn't develop her work alone.
Marianne did not work in isolation. Her practice was supported by a wide network of laboratories and collaborators. Developing was part of a constant exchange, understanding photography as a collective and shared process.
Cultural network under construction
In his agenda he had formed a connection in the Mexican cultural sphere with Inés Amor, Rosa Covarrubias, Herbert and Kitzia Hoffman, Antonio Sousa, Vladimir Kaspé, Cafenino Palencia and Armando Salas Portugal.
Surviving Archive
The Marianne Gast archive brings together photographs, documents, and magazines. It is the testament of a life marked by movement, war, and creation.
A moving file
Marianne carried her photographs through wars, displacements, and exiles. From Germany, she traveled through France, Spain, and other territories before finally arriving in Mexico. The archive survived and is now housed at CENIDIAP, where it is preserved and studied.
Think the image
Scratched negatives, contact sheets, and annotations reveal her working method. Marianne analyzed framing, corrected contrast, and noted errors.Each image shows a meticulous process of observation, reflection, and decision-making.
Lens Cartographies
Her camera traveled across Europe, America, and Africa. Marianne photographed streets, trades, landscapes, and faces with a keen eye for social and cultural differences, understanding each journey as an opportunity to construct new visual interpretations.
Authorship and recognition
Despite the widespread dissemination of her photographic work, her authorship was rarely acknowledged. Many images attributed to Mathias Goeritz were actually taken by Marianne.
Marianne en el CI
Today, this exhibition at the Image Center restores Marianne to her rightful place as a photographer.
Book (2025) by Centro de la Imagen Image Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Explore about his life and work in the official booklet:
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