About Marie-Pier (MP)
Marie-Pier (MP) Frigon is a photographer currently based in Albuquerque, NM. It’s hard to pinpoint when they first began taking photos because cameras of various kinds were present throughout their life, but they began photographing more intentionally in 2012 when they created a portfolio of images to apply to film school. They later transferred into a photography program after falling in love with still images and finding an artistic voice in photography.
Marie-Pier’s work seeks to capture and preserve moments of nostalgia and transition that feel like a distant dream. They love the tactile feeling of handling film, and frequently work with 35mm, medium format, and Polaroid film. They feel that the unpredictable and imperfect nature of film reflects the transitory nature of human existence.
Marie-Pier received their BFA in Photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco (May 2017) where they received the Director’s Choice award for an individual image submission at the 2017 AAU Spring Show. Their photos have been published in the San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post, and included in several juried group shows.
CV
Statement
I photograph to catch what is always slipping away: moments that move in and out of conscious focus, places heavy with memory and familiar iconography, and versions of myself I am still trying to understand. My work ebbs and flows alongside my journey through feelings of nostalgia and transition. Through the act of making images, I gather fragments of time and turn them over, trying to understand what memory lingers and what remains lost.
I find myself drawn to places where the air feels heavy with something familiar but unnamed. These spaces are more than just backdrops. They are emotional landscapes that hold pieces of who I was and who I am becoming. At times, I feel so lost in nostalgia that I wonder if I’m reliving memories that aren’t mine.
Through photography, I find a surprisingly ambiguous boundary between memory and the present. I mourn what has shifted, and cling to what remains steady, hoping it will help me understand myself. Every frame is a conversation between what was, what is, and what might have been.
Across my bodies of work, there is a similar feeling. A nearly desperate grasp towards a memory I feel is just on the tip of my tongue, yet hazy and out of reach. Like deja vu, or a distant dream, I photograph moments that make me feel connected to something lost. Each photograph is an offering—a way of saying: I was here, I think. I am here now. I am becoming. And I’m so very sorry that I have to leave.
EXHIBITIONS
2025
SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico, Harwood Art Center, Albuquerque NM
In an Instant, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights IL (juried by Jerry Slowik)
Far & Wide, New Mexico Art League, Albuquerque NM
2017
Pin-Up, Classic Cars West Gallery, San Francisco CA (curated by OFF Space
San Francisco)
Spring Show, Academy of Art University Gallery, San Francisco CA
Spheres of Influence, Arts Benicia Gallery, Benicia CA
2014
Print And/Or Book, Academy of Art University Gallery, San Francisco CA
2013
A to B: Art in Transit, Associated Student Art Gallery, San Francisco CA
ONLINE EXHIBITIONS
2025
WILD, Analog Forever Magazine (curated by Catherine Couturier)
Inhabit, F-Stop Magazine
Portraits: Beyond the Exterior, Analog Forever Magazine (curated by Polly Gaillard)
2017
Fictional Narrative, Photo Place Gallery (curated by Emma Powell)
AWARDS
2018
Fujifilm Young Talent Award, Shortlist
2017
Spring Show, Academy of Art University Gallery, Director’s Choice Award, Awarded by Photography Program Director James Wood
PUBLICATIONS
2025
UNFOLD Issue No. 02: Home, Unfold the Magazine
2024
Framed Instant Zine, Created and curated by Jennifer Stamps
2023
Lux the Zine, Created by Devon Leigh Warcza and Aaron Warcza
2022
Washington Post, “In N.M. child-care funding win, providers nationwide see road map”
2014