About the Artists
Artists Frank Diaz and Deb Young are the creators of the International Collaboration Project, a digital photographic collaboration positioning them as pioneers in this arena. Working over 8,800 miles apart, Diaz (USA) and Young (New Zealand) combine their candid photomontages into series of reality-bending narratives. The themes of their work often have an underlying lo-fi sensibility, exploring both childlike wonder and imagination, as well as intense adult stories with darker twists.
The two artists have been part of multiple exhibitions, competitions and projects. Accolades include being named "International Photographers of the Year" at the 6th Edition Pollux Awards, the Fine Art and Documentary Photography Biennial held in Malaga, Spain, first place, Fine Art Division, Neutral Density Photography Awards, awarded the 9th Julia Margaret Cameron Award at the 4th Biennial of Fine Art + Documentary Photography in Berlin, first place, People: Non-Professional Category, Moscow International Foto Awards, Moscow, Russia, Top 50 Critical Mass, Photolucida, Portland, OR and more.
Exhibitions include Z Gallery Arts in Vancouver, BC, Gilman Contemporary in Ketchum, Idaho, the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, Colorado, the Kolga Awards in Tbilisi, Georgia, The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Tampa, FL and the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA. They have been featured in prestigious photography and arts magazines around the world such as Positive Magazine, Hi-Fructose, Musee Magazine, Feature Shoot, PH Magazine, F-Stop Magazine, the Eye of Photography, Creative Boom, Lenswork, amongst many more.
Born in the U.S. with Cuban-Spanish heritage, Diaz’s predilection for artists like Goya, El Greco, and the still lifes of Juan Bautista de Espinosa may come from that background. With many childhood years spent in Brooklyn on Coney Island, the posters, crumbling rides, the idea of a shredded environment, became a major visual inspiration for his future work.
Young’s passion for photography came to life when she was given the opportunity to work behind the scenes on the publication of New Zealand Photography Magazine, editing, shooting, image processing, judging the monthly-run competitions and interviewing professional photographers. Her early connection and fascination with documentary photography lead to Young shooting the streets of Auckland using a variety of analogue cameras.
