Mongol Orno with Suniko Bazargarid

- Name, age, where are you from, what format do you like using, and what are you currently working on (if anything)?

• Suniko, 28, from Mongolia, based between NY and Ulaanbaatar. I like both digital and medium format (currently shooting on a 6x6 but would eventually like to switch to 5x7). I'm currently working on my first solo show at Baxter St as part of the Artist-in-Residence program.

  https://www.baxterst.org/residencies/suniko-bazargarid/

- What about your surroundings/environment and upbringing interested you?

I’ve always loved observing my surroundings, the people around me, and the small details that make a place. I NEED to be looking at interesting things and constantly crave a change in environment, possibly because of the constant movement I experienced growing up. I’m drawn to anything that bears a human mark—those little reminders that someone has been here before us. But I’m also attracted to natural elements that feel monumental, as if the land itself has preserved them.

- When was the first time you encountered photography? How did you feel when you first encountered it?

My first camera came to me when I was in 9th grade. It was a 35mm Nikon N90 film camera. I would carry it with me all summer, taking photos around the area I grew up in Boston. Looking back at those photos, they hold all the nostalgia we often associate with adolescence—soft focus, wandering through a small town, and the tenderness of being a teenager.

When I first visited Bangkok in 2017, I saw the Sebastião Salgado exhibit at the BACC. I was completely mesmerized by the scale of the images and the overwhelming feeling I got from sitting with them. I remember thinking, “Wow, this really is the format that speaks to me,” even though I don’t think I fully understood what I was seeing. Around the same time, I saw Nan Looking at Brian by Nan Goldin at the old House of Lucie gallery in Bangkok. Nan’s eyes, Brian’s gaze, the color, and the vulnerability of it all really tugged at my heart—it was all conveyed through a photograph. That moment really stuck with me.

- Tell us about the current projects you’ve been working on. Are they inspired by personal reasons, or others? What excites you most about these projects?

I’m currently working on my first solo show in NY, based on my personal project Mongol Orno, which began last year when I returned to Mongolia while waiting for my visa. It explores themes of land, identity, distance, and belonging. Much of it comes from lived experience—navigating borders, growing up between places, and trying to figure out what it means to be in a place you're emotionally tied to but only temporarily. What excites me most is seeing how the work is evolving—emotionally, visually, and conceptually—the more time I spend with it, and how all my work is interconnected. Honestly, having my first solo show has been a very anxiety-inducing process.

- How did you develop your visual literacy? Why are you attracted to certain images more than others?

This is interesting because sometimes I’m not entirely sure. My older sister is also an artist, so growing up, I consumed a lot of what she was into, which has definitely influenced me. I think the films I watched and the books I read as a kid embedded certain colors and moods in my mind. I’m drawn to odd curiosities—things that feel just a little off but are still thriving. Then, in high school, I spent a lot of time on Tumblr, mostly absorbing the visuals there, which were often rooted in film photography.

- Imagine meeting someone who is picking up a camera for the first time. What would you tell them?

Just have fun! Try everything! Get close, get far, bring it everywhere, and capture everything. Find out what makes you feel something. It’ll be great!