All My Strangers by Martin Stranka

The narrative of the series All My Strangers maps the cyclical nature of human encounters: the transformation from complete strangers to intimate companions, and the inevitable drift toward alienation. Each initial meeting, unburdened by a shared past, carries within it a perfect purity, and at the same time, the hidden risk of the unknown.

On the West Coast of the United States, in a land built on the stories of strangers, I compose images that examine these encounters and their settings. The viewer is invited to step into the private spaces where the scenes take place.

They then face the question of whether, in such fleeting moments, it’s possible to find a lasting sense of home in every stranger whose story we touch. And what if, in every stranger and every place, we are not searching for home at all, but rather for fragments of ourselves, scattered across the world?


Curator’s Text
In the contemporary era, where global interconnectedness paradoxically merges with the atomization of individuality, the series All My Strangers offers a visual meditation on the very essence of human encounter. The series explores the ephemeral dynamics of human relationships, where each interaction is defined by a cyclical arc: from initial anonymity through intimate, albeit fleeting, closeness, to the inevitable, often poignant, return to estrangement. It does not, however, merely present a record of interactions; it functions as a mirror reflecting the existential human yearning for connection and the inescapable reality of isolation.

The series is built upon the premise that every encounter with a stranger, unburdened by the weight of a shared past, harbors both the purity of an unadulterated present moment and the latent risk of the unknown. This tension between openness and potential vulnerability is a central motif that resonates throughout the exhibition. The West Coast of the United States – a land symbolically associated with narratives of a continuous influx of strangers and the ceaseless migration of dreams and destinies – serves as the setting. These landscapes and urban spaces are not merely backdrops; they become active participants, silent witnesses, and often metaphorical extensions of the inner states of the depicted subjects.

The photographic arrangements in All My Strangers transcend the boundaries of mere documentation. They are composed scenes that draw the viewer into the private space of these fleeting moments, prompting introspection and posing questions that touch upon layers of human experience. Is it truly possible, in these transitory instances of mutual touch – be it physical, emotional, or verbal – to find a lasting piece of home in every stranger whose story we encounter? Is this longing for home in another merely a projection of our own need for anchoring in a constantly shifting world?

The philosophical apex of the series, however, lies in its concluding question: And what if, in every stranger, we are not searching for home, but merely for fragments of ourselves, scattered across the world? This question transforms the series from a simple exploration of interpersonal relationships into a psychological inquiry. It suggests that our interactions with others may be a form of continuous mirroring, where our own often unrecognized or suppressed aspects are reflected in the faces, gestures, and narratives of strangers. Each stranger thus becomes an ephemeral mirror, momentarily capturing and returning a piece of our own complex and fragmented inner self – our alter egos, our inner personas seeking external projection to be recognized.

All My Strangers thus invites a re-evaluation of what it means to be a stranger and what it means to be at home. Is home not rather a state of being, a moment of inner recognition found through projection and reflection in others, rather than a geographical location or a fixed relationship? The photographic series invites a journey that, while rooted in specific space and time, finds its true reach in the universal exploration of the human condition – in the perpetual dance between the desire for connection and the inevitable reality of our individual, introspective wandering. Ultimately, All My Strangers reminds us that the greatest strangers we may ever meet could be those residing within ourselves.




Martin Stranka
Martin Stranka is a self-taught professional photographer based in Prague and a native of Czechia, born in 1984. Martin was a student plodding through courses in business school when the unexpected loss of a loved one led him to pursue photography as a form of therapy. That hobby turned into a passion and, eventually, a profession. His distinctive vision of the medium occupies a unique space of balance and serenity, with rich, complex imagery that seems to capture the fleeting moments between dreams and awakenings. Martin’s pieces are reminiscent of stills from a film that walks the line between fantasy and reality. He explores our fascination with the incomplete narrative. In his words: “In these deliberately unfinished visual stories, I’m searching for the boundary between aesthetic appeal and a dramatic scene.” .

In recent years, Martin has won over 80 major international photography awards from various competitions, including the International Photography Awards™ held in New York at Carnegie Hall, where he was named Special Photographer of the Year in 2022. In 2024, the book Beautiful Accidents won 2nd place in the same competition in the Fine Art Book category among all submitted books from around the world. He’s also received awards from the Sony World Photography Awards (1st place, Open Creative category and National Award 2018 and 2019), the Annual Photography Awards (Photographer of the Year, 2021) and Prix de la Photographie Paris (Gold Award). .

Martin's work has been exhibited and auctioned by leading auction house Christie's in London and Amsterdam, and his solo and group exhibitions have been hosted in North and South America, throughout Europe, and as far as Asia. His photographs have been exhibited in cities around the world: New York, Basel, Tokyo, London, Miami, Paris, Prague, Hong Kong, Kiev. The galleries where Martin’s work has been presented include Christie's London (UK), Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum (SK), Mánes Exhibition Hall (CZ), Saatchi Gallery (US), SNAP! Orlando (US) and many others..

Martin's dreamlike, transportive photography has been commissioned by cultural institutions such as the National Theatre in Prague and the Czech National Ballet. His images have also been used by New York publishers for the covers of mystery and thriller novels — genres Martin believes his work is perfectly suited to. He has created book covers for the biggest New York publishers, such as HarperCollins Publishers, Sterling Publishing and Penguin Random House, and he has collaborated with other book publishers, music publishers and artists around the world.
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