Marlike Marks
◼︎ Marlike Marks
Marlike Marks is a Rotterdam-based photographer whose practice explores the relationship between attention, time, and our surroundings. Her work grows from self-imposed rituals and repeated gestures, using photography as a way to remain present and to deepen her way of seeing.
By returning to the same places, landscapes, and subjects over extended periods of time, Marks observes how everything is continuously shifting — from changing light and passing seasons to subtle transformations within herself. What first appears ordinary reveals itself as layered and in constant motion. Through repetition, she moves beyond the search for exceptional moments, focusing instead on the quiet and often unnoticed details of everyday life.
Working primarily with analogue photography and natural light, Marlike Marks creates images that are not merely recordings of what she encounters, but traces of sustained attention. Her practice explores time not as something that passes, but as something to inhabit. Through her work, she invites viewers to slow down, to linger, and to rediscover the subtle beauty of what is already present.
Her work is held in various private collections, has been acquired by Bureau Financieel Toezicht, and is included in Stadsarchief Rotterdam.
Marlike Marks, 2026
© Nanno Stilma
◼︎ Biography
Marlike Marks lives and works in Rotterdam. She graduated with honours in Photography in 2015 and continued developing her practice through postgraduate programs at the Photo Academy Amsterdam and Breda Photo. Her work has been exhibited widely in the Netherlands, including at Ballon Rouge, Huis van de Fotografie, De Doelen Art Studio, Rotterdam Photo, and Fotofestival Naarden, and has been published internationally. She has received several awards and grants, including the Jury Prize of De Kracht van Rotterdam in 2018. Driven by a desire for a stronger photographic community in Rotterdam, she founded Ballon Rouge in 2022.
◼︎ Discover works by Marlike Marks
◼︎ Selected Exhibitions
Current & upcoming
2026 Present Tense, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2026 North Sea Jazz Art, Ahoy, Rotterdam
Solo / duo
2024 Sunflower Lane, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2022 Looking at Love, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2022 Constructions of Desire, Foundation Bad, Rotterdam
2021 Memories of Tomorrow, Huis van de Fotografie, Rotterdam
Group
2026 We Are Dreamers, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2026 Soft Transition, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2025 Where We Were, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2025 Resonances from the void, De Doelen Art, Rotterdam
2023 Closer, Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam
2022 De Magie van Polaroid, Art Centre, Schiedam
2019 Love is Lost, Rotterdam Photo, Deliplein, Rotterdam
2018 Winterreise, Galerie Sehnsucht, Rotterdam
2018 De Kracht van Rotterdam, Schouwburgplein, Rotterdam
2015 Laagseizoen, Foto Festival Naarden
See full CV
Images © Vivian Ammerlaan