Cristina Coral

Award winning fine art photographer Cristina Coral is known for her creative and mysterious photographs. Coral's work is both dreamy and realistic in the way that she explores the relationship between her subject and their environment. She grew up surrounded by the arts and because of this was encouraged to pursue her creative endeavors. Coral's series 'Grandmother's House' is an exploration of her childhood memories of spending time at her Grandmother's house. It was a magical place where she always felt safe, protected and full of love.

The photographs from 'Grandmother's House' use subject and place as a framework for illustrating the emotional connection Coral has experienced throughout her life when visiting her Grandmother's house. "The grandmother's house, in my childhood memories, was a magical place; it was full of love and lived stories made of sacrifices, bitterness but also joys." The experience of being with her Grandmother juxtaposed with the details of her Grandmother's old house are painted well in the portraits Coral has taken of a female subject throughout the space. Coral's work feels both nostalgic and arcane. Her use of objects, light and shadow to convey the emotion and memory of a space is extremely successful.

The muted colors and especially the color pink are prominent throughout the series. Coral captures her subject in a pink bathroom wearing a pink skirt suit that perhaps belongs to her Grandmother. As both subject and creator Coral creates a nonlinear narrative of a place she has always felt protected and loved. She calls attention to the walls of the home that have safely kept the memories of the past and of her own childhood. Floral details are woven throughout the photographs in both a subtle and an obvious manner. They take the form of lace curtains, shadows, wallpaper, furniture, flooring, clothing, and even a painting of a flower pot.

Coral is based in Italy where her work is housed in two permanent collections, at the Museum of contemporary Art of Sicily and Fototeca Briganti Museo Santa Maria della Scala di Siena. She has been published in Vogue Italia, Marie Claire, Elle, Wall Street International and several others. Coral was the winner of 'The Uncanny Contest' created by Gregory Crewdson and Vogue Italia and she was a Hasselblad Master 2021 finalist. In 2020 she was shortlisted for the Alpha Female Award at the Sony World Photography Awards. Coral received honorable mentions at Px3 Paris 2014. She was the 2019 recipient of the International Photography Grant. Her work can be found on her website, on Facebook and on Instagram.