Independent photographer working worldwide
Biography
Mario Santi is an independent photographer based in Italy. A long first trip through Southeast Asia, made with one camera and no assignment, set the pattern for most of the work that followed. He travels alone, usually for weeks at a time, and returns to the same regions across several trips rather than moving on to new ones. He tends to stay longer than he means to.
His work moves between commissioned assignments and personal projects that develop over years, sometimes without a clear end. Much of it is made in ordinary circumstances: markets before they fill up, roads between towns, people at work early or late in the day. What holds it together is an interest in how people spend their days rather than in the places themselves, and a willingness to wait for the part of the day that matters.
Exhibitions
- Ordinary Hours, Galerie Vandenhove, Brussels (2025)
- Early and Late, solo show, Casa Bertolli, Bologna (2024)
- Twelve Roads, group show, Fotohuis Noord, Rotterdam (2023)
- People at Work, Galerie Saint-Roch, Arles (2022)
- The Long Way Round, solo show, Fondazione Rivalta, Modena (2020)
- Between Trips, group show, Kunstraum Lettau, Berlin (2018)
Publications
- The New York Times Magazine (2025)
- Internazionale, cover story (2024)
- National Geographic Traveller (2023)
- The Guardian Weekend (2023)
- De Volkskrant Magazine (2022)
- Le Monde Magazine (2021)
- Courrier International (2020)
- Il Venerdi di Repubblica (2018)
Selected clients
- Alba Editrice
- Fondazione Terre Alte
- Nord Atlantic Hotels
- Verso Publishing
- Meridiana Coffee
- Altura Outdoor
- Compagnia del Sale
- Lumen Travel
- Casa Marini
- Vento Nord
- Studio Belvedere
- Riva Hotels Group
- Atlas Guides
- Terra Ferma
- Kilim Textiles
- Fondazione Passaggi
- Nordkust Rail
- Slow Roads
- Ostuni Olive
- Casa Lorenzi
- Hoekstra Reizen
- Ardenne Editions