DOM SMAZ is a Swiss-Brazilian photographer who is based in Lausanne (Switzerland), although he often works in Brazil. He won six Swiss Press Awards and for some ten years now has regularly contributed to both the national and international press, including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Internazionale, Die Zeit, Le Temps, Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Tages Anzeiger. His photographs often deal with themes of colonial heritage, social differences and marginalization. In 2022, his first book Helvécia. A Swiss Colonial History in Brazil was published by Lars Müller Publishers, followed by an exhibition about Helvécia and its history at the Musée Ethnographique de Genève (MEG), attended by over 13,000 visitors. In 2023, his book was one of three shortlisted for the prestigious English Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards. Then Smaz was rewarded again by the Swiss Press Photo for his work about Helvécia, winning 2nd place in the "Swiss Stories" category. Smaz graduated from the Vevey School of Photography (Switzerland) in 2012. He is a member of the French photographic agency Hans Lucas. From 2011 to 2014, Smaz was part of the Geneva photographic agency Rezo.ch alongside Jean Revillard, Nicolas Righetti and Niels Ackerman. Since 2019, he has been a member of the French photographic agency Hans Lucas.
EDITORIAL CLIENTS The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times Magazine, Financial Times, Internazionale, Vice, Leica Fotografie International, Die Zeit, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NZZ am Sonntag, Tages Anzeiger, Sonntags Zeitung, der Bund Berner Zeitung, Le Temps, Le Matin Dimanche, L’Illustré, GEO Histoire, Harper's Bazaar, Børsen, APU, Republik.ch, L’OBS, So Good, Terre & Nature, Migros magazine, La Croix Hebdo, la revue NEZ
CORPORATE / INSTITUTIONAL CLIENTS CHUV, Etat de Vaud, IMD Business School, Tesla, WWF, ATE, Clinique de la Source, RTS, Musée de l’Elysée, Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève, Ville de Genève, Services Industriels de Genève, CSD Ingénieurs, Tekhne Architecture, Keytek, Kudelski Security, WGR Communication, Cully Jazz Festival, Holy Groove Festival, École Nouvelle (ENSR), Polyval, Weetamix club, Electron Festival, Intermezzo Films, Greenpeace, Les Tontons du LiveMarketing, Louis Matute Quartet, Confédération Suisse
LANGUAGES
French - English - Portuguese (Brazil)
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
2012 Federal Certificate in Photography
College of Applied Arts - CEPV
Vevey / Switzerland
2006 Certificate of Preparatory Studies
High School of Art and Design - ECAL
Lausanne / Switzerland
AWARDS
BOOK
2022 Helvécia. A Swiss Colonial History in Brazil
Lars Müller Publishers
CONFERENCE
2022 Helvécia. A Forgotten Colonial History
TEDx / Graduate Institute / Geneva / Switzerland
SOLO EXHIBITION
2022 Helvécia. A Forgotten Colonial History
Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève (MEG) / Switzerland
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS
2018 Helvécia
Hamburg / Germany
2018 - 2019 Et en Attendant?
2013 - 2014 Des Cabanes et des Hommes
2013 Wait Workers
2011 Wait Workers
2011 Doorman in Copacabana
2011 Identités Clandestines (projection)
2010 Identités Clandestines