Mario Marino’s Retrospective 2011-2014 showcases poignant portraits from around the world

Austrian photographer Mario Marino is showing a retrospective of his work at the Empty Quarter gallery in Dubai.

Boxer, Cuba, 2012, from Mario Marino's exhibition at The Empty Quarter Gallery. Courtesy Mario Marino / The Empty Quarter Gallery

The Austrian photographer Mario Marino has been travelling around the world with his camera, scouring the streets since 2000 for the faces that make up his portrait collection. Represented by The Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai, Marino's work has already been shown in two group exhibitions at the Dubai International Financial Centre gallery. The National catches up with him for a chat about his first solo show, Retrospective 2011-2014, which displays photographs he took during those years, including poignant images taken on his travels across India, Nepal, Cuba and Ethiopia.

What is the most important thing you look for before taking a portrait?

I always look for great faces. Faces that show personality and cultural background, as well as those that tell a story.

Can you tell us a little more about your process?

I call it empathy in walking. When I visit a new place, I walk between 10 to 12 hours a day to find great faces in the street, as well as to see what is going on and to discover the timing of the city. The best way to read a city is on foot.

What do you do when you find that face? How do you approach your subjects?

It depends on where I see them. Sometimes I follow someone for one or two kilometres – and then I ask for a portrait. Sometimes it is more immediate.

Do you feel restricted by language or culture?

It is not a question about the language, because if I ask a person for a portrait then they always feel proud that they were chosen. You must always be connected with the person in front of the camera and people feel that.

What is the secret to getting a good shot?

First I get to know the person, I talk to them and then I take the portrait. People realise that I am interested and that’s how it works. But there are no technical secrets, I use a normal camera and lens and natural light. I have been doing this for long enough to know how to set up a good shot. I know what time I have to go, how to set it up.

Do you have a favourite image in this show?

There are two I took when I visited a school for Muslim girls in the south of Sri Lanka in 2012, close to Baddegama – one of the towns worst hit by the 2004 tsunami. I asked the teacher if I could take the pictures and they said it was not allowed of women or of children, but I stayed there for six to seven hours and later they agreed. Sometimes I get the picture quickly, but sometimes I must wait. I love this picture because these children are so proud to go to school. Each of them lost at least one family member in the tsunami, yet they have such wonderful energy.

Are there any others you would point out?

I love the portrait I took of a beggar with his two children in Pushkar in Rajasthan, in 2013. I’d walked all day without taking any pictures that day and then I sat down for a drink and the girl approached me to ask for money. I saw the family and took the picture immediately. I also love the image I took on a train station in Delhi of a boy smiling and leaning out of the window and one of a woman staring out to sea at a sunset in Cuba. A lot of young people have the desire to travel and find a better life in America and this image captures that desire.

You have a special partnership with the Hahnemühle paper company in Germany and use its paper for all your printing. What makes that paper so special?

Hahnemühle is the oldest paper company in the world. This is 300 gram handmade paper and nothing at all like normal photo paper. It is printed with pigment so you can see all the details and the end result is like – you can touch the person.

What are your plans for 2015?

I’m working on a project with tribes in Pushkar. When I first visited, I met a lot of these people, travelling from village to village, and now I am going back to the same place to photograph them in the desert. In the end, there will be a book of 120 images depicting their stories.

• Mario Marino’s Retrospective 2011-2014 runs until February 17 at The Empty Quarter, DIFC. Visit www.theemptyquarter.com