Underground music photography: Intimate snapshots by Marina Mónaco

In the heart of Berlin, a unique photographic journey unfolds. Marina Mónaco, a photographer with a keen eye for capturing subcultures and the essence of smaller towns, embarks on a mission to immortalise moments in time through her work.

The Neue Welle series, launched in 2023, serves as a testament to the passing of time, the feelings, and the atmosphere of moments. Marina's photographs are not just images; they are a declaration, a way of saying, "This was real. This really happened. This is how we felt."

Berlin has significantly influenced Marina's photography in the Neue Welle series. The city, with its rich history and vibrant alternative music scene, has offered her a playground to explore herself and reflect her feelings in her pictures. The city, a prominent character in her work, is visible in her love for photographing every corner.

The name Neue Welle originated from a music movement from the 1970s called the Neue Deutsche Welle. However, Marina's series was inspired by the post-Covid alternative music scene in Berlin. She seeks local people and unique moments to capture in her photography, paying attention to signs, typography, and details that tell her a place is going to disappear.

Shooting the photos on analog adds to the suspended sense of time. The timeless quality of her photographs makes it unclear whether they were taken in the 1980s or the present day. Initially, she saw the work as documentary, but now she realizes the people are also self-portraits of her.

Marina's work is not intended to be finished, but rather to be continuously expanded. She plans to expand the Neue Welle series to other countries and the outskirts of Germany, continuing her quest to capture and remember the feelings and moments that define us.

For updates on Marina's work, follow her on Instagram at @marinaamonaco. Her photographs serve as a reminder that every moment, every place, and every person is worth remembering. They are a testament to the power of photography to capture and immortalise the essence of our world.