Hi there, I'm Valentina Culley-Foster, a trained analog / digital photographer. I grew up in Virginia in the US, as well as in the scenic Rhein Valley in Germany. Being Irish, German as well as American, I feel drawn to revisiting the countries that shape my own identity. I achieved a one year Foundation Diploma in Graphic Design and Photography in London at the University of the Arts (London College of Communications), followed by a three year BA Honours course in Photographic Arts at the University of Westminster (London). I moved to Derry in Northern Ireland as well as Brussels to pursue professional projects and am now based in Berlin since 2014.
My personal work is conceptual documentary based, grounded in extensive research that visualises ideas surrounding contemporary cultural debate. Understanding and capturing identity is a key theme throughout my work and has become even more meaningful to me in my latest extensive portraiture project 'The Young Bulgarians', where I have had the privilege of documenting key personalities from the Arts & Culture scene of Bulgaria, a country with a fascinating layered cultural history. My work either celebrates traditions shaped by cultures, or explores the theme of Borders and their contemporary significance. Two of my larger series document vanishing cultural division as well as the change in geographical landscape without militarised borders in both Berlin and Northern Ireland. My work has been exhibited in galleries in London, Berlin, Belfast, Derry and Sofia.
I accept commissions for editorial, portraiture, urban- / landscape, fashion and event photography. Over the last few years I have also shot behind the scenes on set of short films and music videos in London as well as Berlin. I shoot primarily in color, as I feel that this stylistic choice mirrors reality best.
Thanks for visiting my site and please feel free to get in touch regarding upcoming projects or collaborations.