About
Maya Almeida Araujo is an award winning Director and Artist who explores the human condition through our connection with water.

With a focus on the underwater realm, the work floats between the spheres of still and moving images, artistic installation, and site specific pieces.

Navigating the confluence of nature, art and technology, her work has developed through critical engagement with her own mind and body in a way that examines fundamental questions of how human beings relate to themselves and to their environment.

Adopting a unique approach to each work, Maya draws on personal experience, culture and ancient philosophy to create visceral immersive experiences . An invitation to step into an imaginary world in a manner that is at once sensorial and profoundly intimate, taking the viewer into a realm where the boundaries between Man and Nature disappear, it asks how we can come together and ultimately, heal.

London is home but Maya was born in Lisbon to Portuguese / Belgian / German parents. She holds BSc (Hons) in Biology from Imperial College London, so the artistic path was one of auto-didacticism;  studying at Central Saint Martins, training with equipment manufacturers and working some of the greatest image makers of our time, such as Chris Nash, Tim Flach and Lois Greenfield.

The work consistently pushes technological boundaries in search for a truer realisation of the experience. Recent projects have involved developing custom rigs for film-making in the open ocean, multi-screen editing at ground breaking levels of resolution, colour depth, motion, interactive animation environments and producing hyper-textured ambisonic soundscapes. All in partnership with a collective of like-minded artistic collaborators and craftspeople without losing sight of her truth.

Maya's Fine Art work exists in public and private collections and has been recognised by juried international exhibitions and competitions. Collaborations with a range of commercial & private clients include CHI & Partners, Y&R Branding, Orion Publishing, OneDrop Foundation, the Lisbon Oceanarium, Crowood Press, Egoista Magazine, Scientific American, Dance UK, AD Dance Company, D&B Performing Arts, The English National Ballet, the Akram Khan Dance Company, Body of People, The Nureyev Medical Foundation and Visto Images.
Underwater PhotographerUnderwater Photographer
Maya's Fine Art work is in public and private collections and has been recognised by juried international exhibitions and competitions.
Underwater photographer
SELECTED COLLABORATORS
Lisbon Oceanarium
AWARDS & FEATURES
2020
Launch of “ONE” - A site-specific immersive art installation in Lisbon about our ancestral connection to oceans.

A piece that cuts new ground both artistically and technically. This included: ambisonic sound, multi projector 11k resolution width walls, use of AI to slow down imagery, interactive projections. During production we developed the worlds brightest customised underwater lights and engineered purpose-built setups for a attaching high speed camera to RIB and a “rain curtain” to create a moving film of water
2017
Feature Special Edition SABADO / New York Times on Ocean Conservation.

Tel Aviv International Women Artists Exhibition.
2016
Feature in Egoista Special December Edition.

Graphis Platinum Award for ‘Ana - underwater portrait’ series and Silver Award for ‘Veiled’.
2015
P/Art Ibiza Group Exhibition ‘Fantasy’.

125LIVE London - Exhibition for Innovation in Photography and Annual.

Technique Feature for Canon Professional Services on Canon 5DS Beneath the Surface Underwater Beauty shoot.

‘Into the Blue’ Behind the Scenes features, Creative Review.

OneEyeland competition Bronze award for ‘Fine Art’ & ‘People’ categories, Finalist for ‘Advertising’ & ‘Sports’ categories.
2014
Shanghai International Invitational Exhibition. ‘Underwater Dance’ series.

UK Professional Photographer of the Year - Shortlisted.

Installation Magazine June - Feature Q&A on creative process and inspiration.

Creative Review March - Technique Feature on Underwater Photography.

Q&A with Antonia Wilson, Creative Review.
2013
Group Exhibition at Metal Culture, Chalkwell for Dance Photography, curated by Chris Nash.
2012
Group exhibition at City Hall for the Cultural Olympiad, a collaboration with English National Ballet, curated by Chris Nash.

Arles Salon in France summer exhibition - Underwater images in multimedia installation.
2011
Epsom Underwater World Shootout - Finalist Environmental Conservation Category.
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