Olivia Fernandez (b. Bordeaux, France) is a Berlin-based photographer and visual storyteller. After leaving behind a corporate career, she studied at the International Center of Photography in New York, completing the Creative Practices and Documentary Photography & Visual Journalism programs. Her lens finds its way into the shadowed corners of human experience: mental health, addiction, grief, and the fragile, tenacious will to survive; turning intimate stories into images that ask something of the people who encounter them. At the heart of her work are projects born from one of life's most difficult thresholds: suicide. What began as photographs grew into short films, and then into events featuring panel discussions with mental health specialists. Having immersed herself in the study of trauma and neurobiology, she brings to her practice not only a photographer's eye but a deep understanding of the inner landscapes she is navigating. Beyond the frame, she builds community and organises events dedicated to mental healing, creating spaces where art and dialogue intersect as tools for resilience and recovery.
AWARDS
2026 Athens Photography Festival - Shortlist, Methamphetamine Anonymous
2022 LES NUITS PHOTO - Finalist for You Will Miss Sunrise if You Close Your Eyes (Still Image Film)
2021 Hillman Foundation Grant - Recipient for You Will Miss Sunrise if You Close Your Eyes
2021 British journal of Photography Edition365 - Winner
2021 Julia Margaret Cameron Award - Honorable Mention
2021 FotoNostrum lockdown competition - Finalist
2021 RPS International Photography Exhibition - Shortlist
2018 PDN EDU - Winner in the landscape category, Alone in Silence
2018 International Photography Awards - Honorable Mention in the Deeper Perspective category, Expired Life
2018 International Monochrome Awards - Honorable Mention, Alone in Silence
2018 Analog Photographique Awards - Shortlist winner, Alone in Silence
2017 Life Framer - Honorable Mention in Open Call, Alone in Silence
EXHIBITIONS & PUBLICATIONS
2025 Show & Tell presentation, “Under the Rug” exhibition, Fotogalerie Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany
2025 Leica Exhibition “A Unique Perspective”, The Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2025 F-Stop Magazine, Into the Night
2023 You Will Miss Sunrise if You Close Your Eyes film projection & conversation around mental healing, Berlin, Germany
2022 Book Anthology for Unseen
2022 Group Exhibition, Carry My Heart, Too Tired Project
2022 3rd Barcelona Foto Biennale, FotoNostrum Mediterranean House of Photography
2021 Solo Exhibition and Panel Talks, Berlin Mental Health Festival, Berlin, Germany
2021 New Art City Exhibition
2021 The Art of Photography, PH21 Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
2021 Stories: Narrative Photography, PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2021 Edge of Humanity magazine
2021 Analog Forever Noir online exhibition
2021 Bird in Flight magazine
2020 ICPConcerned: Global Images for Global Crisis, International Center of Photography, NY
2020 The View From Here online gallery through Don’t Take Pictures magazine
2020 F-Stop magazine online group show, documentary work 2020
2019 TooTiredProject show on depression at the Vermont Center for Photography
2019 Humble Arts Foundation online show on loss
2018 Break the Silence public exhibition and panel discussion on mental health, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Signal Crossings group exhibition, International Center of Photography, NY
2017 Hidden Narratives group exhibition, International Center of Photography, NY