Marvel Harris (b. 1995) is a photographer born and raised in the Netherlands. His deeply personal photographic work draws from his 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 himself with a camera to manage emotions he could not adequately put into words. Observing his life unfold through his work, he realized how photography helps him understand his own complex identity. The resulting self-portraits, which communicate with a raw honesty, are part of his ongoing long-term project entitled Inner Journey. Stemming from a personal desire to connect with the world around him, this autobiographical story, where photography and life entwine and merge, invites others to participate in his vulnerability, offering them an insight into his mind.
Harris graduated from the Nederlandse Fotovakschool in Apeldoorn in 2018, where he was awarded the Keep an Eye Fotovakschool Grant for best photographic work and most original project plan. Harris has since won several accolades with his work, including the Zilveren Camera prize in the documentary category (2018), and featured in LensCulture’s Emerging Talent Awards 2019 as well as Foam Talents 2022. His work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam and the South London Gallery, and is 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. His book MARVEL (self-published, 2020) was awarded the MACK First Book Award and republished in 2021. In 2023, he was the recipient of the RPS Award for Achievement in the Art of Photography (under 35yrs).
