Maria Lax, is a Finnish filmmaker and award-winning photographer, whose works have been exhibited widely including at the Tate Britain in London and the Turner Contemporary in Margate.

Maria combines her expertise in film and photography to create stunning surreal ‘stills’ that appear fresh from the cinema screen. Dramatic backgrounds and thoughtfully curated compositions captured in a snap shot of time, leave the viewer waiting with baited breath to see how the scene unfolds. Every photograph feels as if it is a snapshot of a much bigger story that we are lucky to witness.

‘Forest Bed’ is an example of these seconds of stillness. The scene is reminiscent to a dramatic pause in piece of theatre or music – the pause before a character breaks forth with an energetic monologue or a passionate embrace, or in music the suspense created with silence before a heavy bass line begins.

This work has come to The Auction Collective through on of its brilliant partners, Open Doors – an online platform for some of the best photographers and story tellers around.