Andrew Marinkovich is a conversationalist that just happens to use the medium of photography. As our Arthaus12 event four presenter, Andrew led a conversation about story telling, using images of journeys to Guatemala and Ethiopia to prompt our group’s consideration of narrative, awareness and engagement.

It was striking the degree to which Andrew’s philosophy in the application of photography to tell a story mirrors elements that make for good conversation. Andrew spoke of the need for curiosity, sincerity and willingness to learn as essential in the unearthing of some substantive truth and its memorialization. As conversation requires us to be unselfish, aware of how we are choosing to relate to others and reflective of our assumptions, similarly so does Andrew’s concern to interrogate his context, the people, the subject matter, the viewer and his own role in visually recording this narrative.

An unexpected pleasure for attendees at this Arthaus12 event was Andrew’s demonstration of his passion for stories, in setting up his own pop-up studio and inviting us to take part in a Dear World photo shoot. Some of the images from that shoot appear below.

Conversation as practiced by me is predominantly verbal. Yet we communicate in numerous ways, and each of these has the capacity of good conversation to enhance our personal growth and expand our horizons.

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