Maria Bodrug

Mixed Media Artist
Maria Bodrug (Moldova, 1997) grew up in a country rich in cultural stories and traditions. From an early age, she explored a variety of art forms in order to express herself both as an artist and as a human being. Today, her artistic practice includes photography, video collages, design, painting, poetry, and performance.

Maria’s passion for photography began as a hobby but gradually evolved into a deeper artistic pursuit. In search of her own visual language and artistic voice, she moved to the Netherlands in 2021 to study at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, where she developed a critical and reflective approach to photography.



Contact bodrugmaria@gmail.com
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Work



PERSONAL PROJECTS

COMISSIONS

BACKSTAGE PHOTOGRAPHY
Fugue
Een Verborgen Talent
Moldovan Fashion Week 2025




PROJECT

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IN  SPITE OF IT ALL

In Spite of It All is a long-term documentary project by Maria Bodrug that began in 2023 as part of the New Voices 2 Workshop by RFG Media. Its first chapter followed a young woman from Brazil who escaped an abusive household and found refuge in a Rotterdam shelter. Over several months, Maria documented her daily life, capturing her struggles, resilience, and hopes for a new beginning.

The project grew from what Maria had witnessed her whole life in Moldova: silence. Abuse was present but rarely spoken about. As she developed as a student and young professional, she finally found the courage and tools to confront a subject that had shaped her environment since childhood.

In 2024, the project moved to Moldova, where Maria spent six months collaborating with NGOs, social workers, and local networks to document the lives of four women: Svetlana, Margareta, Nicoleta, and Iulia, who survived domestic violence. What began as an attempt to understand the aftermath of abusive households through the women’s experiences soon expanded, as their children naturally became part of the story, revealing how deeply violence echoes through a family.

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Through visual symbols and photographs that depict reality directly, sometimes quietly, sometimes uncomfortably, Maria tried to convey the weight of what the women shared: the shame imposed on them, the pressure of Orthodox and patriarchal expectations, and the failure of institutions meant to protect them. Her images respond to these testimonies, making visible the exhaustion, the fractures in everyday life, and the small acts of resistance that keep them moving forward.

In her book, Maria combined photographs with her own reflections, observations, and the women’s direct words. Depending on the exhibition context, quotes such as “he didn’t do that without reason” may appear beside the images, allowing their voices to stand openly within the work. The project culminated in a photo-text book and an exhibition at the 2025 graduation show of the Photography and Fine Art program at Willem de Kooning Academy.










In Spite of It All is available for purchase.
Price: €40.00
Shipping available within the Netherlands and worldwide.
To order, please email: bodrugmaria@gmail.com


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