Monica Denevan

Vigilant by Monica Denevan. Photograph - Burma. Lower body with tattoo and sword

2009

Monica Denevan studied photography at San Francisco State University. She has travelled extensively in Burma and China for many years. Denevan’s photographs have been exhibited internationally including solo shows in San Francisco, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Her work blurs the distinction between cultural documentation and artistic portraiture. It begins with personal connections made travelling in South East Asia and evolves from the people and their immediate environment. The individuals live in remote regions far from the changes wrought by industrial development, with a traditional culture that remains linked to the past and the intangible spirit of their homeland. Monica’s photographs transcend the subjects themselves to acknowledge their participation in a world of extraordinary resonance and harmony, humming within lives most ordinary. Recently, her work was included in the Annenberg Space for Photography’s “No Strangers” slideshow event in Los Angeles and the Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 2012. Her work has been published in LensWork, Bangkok Airways Inflight Magazine, ZYZZYVA, Communication Arts Photo Annual, SHOTS, Black and White Magazine, The Photo Review, and Artvas-The Photo (Korea) among others. Denevan’s images have been on the cover of Black+White Photography (UK), The Sun magazine (US), and Les Iles by Philippe Lancon (Paris: J’ai Lu). Online, her work has been featured on LENSCRATCH, F-Stop magazine, Le Journal de la Photographie, and Art Photo Index (photo-eye). Monica has won numerous awards including The International Photography Award 2005, Centre for Fine Art Photography Award 2008, Centre for Photographic Art Award 2017 among many others. Her work is held in the UCSF Medical Centre collection.