B I O | Robin Elise Maaya

Robin Elise Maaya (b. 1998) is a multidisciplinary artist and photographer based in Savannah, Georgia. Having held a camera since she was eight years old, Maaya has developed a practice rooted in visual storytelling, using photography to document the ordinary, intimate, and often overlooked moments of the human experience. Influenced by photographic pioneers such as Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, and Francesca Woodman, her work explores memory, identity, vulnerability, grief, and the passage of time through a distinctly personal and emotionally charged lens.

At the center of Maaya’s current photographic practice is X ≠ X: A Study of Mirror Modi Identical Twins, an ongoing eight-year project documenting mirror modi identical twins Dani and Beni. Beginning as an exploration of their shared identity and unusual physical symmetry, the project has evolved into an intimate, long-term study of individuality, connection, and the ways identity shifts over time. Maaya continues to photograph the twins as the project approaches its ten-year mark in 2028, when she plans to present the work in a large-scale exhibition.

In her 2024 exhibition for her body of work, EXODUS, Maaya jumped head first into the depths of childhood memories - and the darkness that surrounds them - while shedding light on the complex and fragile nature of the human experience. The creation of this visual journey that delves into the profundity of family dynamics showcases Maaya’s resilient nature through her navigation of the shadows and the acceptance of a hidden light.

In 2025, Maaya ventured into another self-healing project that began in an artists residency in Lacoste, France situated in the Luberon Valley of Provence. The Duet is an intimate exploration of her fourteen year journey to finally receiving an Endometriosis diagnosis in April 2023 as well as her own personal experiences in the world of women’s healthcare. During this time, Maaya took a step away from her photographic endeavors to get her hands messy - literally and figuratively. Utilizing mediums such as painting, bead work, felting, sculpture, collage, mixed media, and more, Maaya’s continues to add to a body of work that both comforts and disgusts her future viewers. The final goal being to better advocate for Endometriosis awareness - and more generally - the crisis at hand within women’s reproductive healthcare.

With her most recent exhibition, recently on view at Cute Tomatoes Gallery, EVERYTHING That Rises, Maaya turns her attention outward. Created in collaboration with Union Mission, this ongoing project documents individuals who are too often rendered invisible within their own community. This project marks a shift in Maaya's practice: from self-portraiture and familiar relationships to the unfamiliar and overlooked, while carrying forward the same commitment to vulnerability and care that has always been at the core of her artistry. EVERYTHING That Rises asks viewers to slow down, to look closely, and to reconsider who is seen, remembered, and valued within the fabric of Savannah.

Across her work, Maaya is drawn to the tension between the familiar and the hidden - the stories embedded within people, places, relationships, and memories. Whether working through photography or increasingly through physical and material forms, her practice is an ongoing investigation of what it means to document a life while simultaneously making sense of it.

A friend of hers once sent her a letter saying this: “You have a gift…and it’s not just talent…It’s like you were selected to leave our legacy. The power you have… you can tell your own story, my story, and their story…” and that is exactly what Robin intends to do.

Check out THE BOOTH series here

R O B I N E L I S E M A A Y A

2 2 8 - 3 4 3 - 9 9 1 1

R O B I N . M A A Y A @ G M A I L . C O M

R O B I N M A A Y A . C O M

E D U C A T I O N :

S A V A N N A H C O L L E G E O F A R T A N D D E S I G N , 2 0 2 1

S U M M A C U M L A U D E

B F A P H O T O G R A P H Y

F I N E A R T / D O C U M E N T A R Y C O N C E N T R A T I O N

A R T I S T R E S I D E N C I E S:

J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 2 5: S E L E C T E D S C A D A L U M N I

A T E L I E R A M B A S S A D O R S H I P - L A C O S T E , P R O V E N C E , F R A N C E

O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 : S E L E C T E D S C A D A L U M N I

A T E L I E R A S S O C I A T E - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

A W A R D S / H O N O R S :

2 0 2 1 / 2 0 2 2 U N I O N M I S S I O N / S C A D S E R V E M I S S I O N O F M E R C Y

S E L E C T E D P H O T O G R A P H E R F O R P A R K E R S H O U S E

2 0 1 7 - 2 0 2 1 S C A D P O R T F O L I O S C H O L A R S H I P R E C I P I E N T

2 0 1 7 - 2 0 2 1 S C A D A C A D E M I C S C H O L A R S H I P R E C I P I E N T

2 0 1 7 - 2 0 2 1 S C A D S T U D E N T I N C E N T I V E S C H O L A R S H I P

R E C I P I E N T

S E L E C T E D S O L O E X H I B I T I O N S :

2 0 2 6 E V E R Y T H I N G T h a t R i s e s

C U T E T O M A T O E S G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H, G E O R G I A

2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 6 E V E R Y T H I N G T h a t R i s e s

U N I O N M I S S I O N O F S A V A N N A H, G E O R G I A - P E R M A N E N T G A L L E R Y

2 0 2 4 E X O D U S

C E D A R H O U S E G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 2 H O M E A W A Y F R O M H O M E : R E V I S I T E D

C E D A R H O U S E G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 6 M I S S I O N O F M E R C Y , U N I O N M I S S I O N “P A R K E R H O U S E”

S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A - P E R M A N A N T G A L L E R Y

2 0 2 2 I T ’ S A T H U R S D A Y

S A V O Y S O C I E T Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 1 H O M E A W A Y F R O M H O M E

C E D A R H O U S E G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 4 H O M E A W A Y F R O M H O M E

M A T T H E W R E A R D O N C E N T E R F O R A U T I S M

S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A - P E R M A N A N T G A L L E R Y

2 0 1 9 M O U L T I N G

T H E L O F T G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 1 9 G I R L S W A R D : L E F T

T H E L O F T G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 1 9 G I R L S W A R D : L E F T

O H I O N O R T H E R N U N I V E R S I T Y - A D A , O H I O

2 0 1 9 G I R L S W A R D : L E F T

S T A G E A D A P T A T I O N B A S E D O N T H E B O O K

O H I O N O R T H E R N U N I V E R S I T Y - A D A , O H I O

S E L E C E T E D G R O U P E X H I B I T I O N S :

2 0 2 5 R U R A L S O U T H - M A I N E X H I B I T & B O O K F A I R

S L O W E X P O S U R E S - Z E B U L O N , G E O R G I A

2 o 2 4 S T U D I O A R T I S T S T A K E O V E R - E X O D U S R E V I S I T E D

C E D A R H O U S E G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 4 R U R A L S O U T H - M A I N E X H I B I T

S L O W E X P O S U R E S - Z E B U L O N , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 4 B E Y O N D T H E V E I L

I N T E R N A T I O N A L P H O T O G R A P H Y H A L L O F F A M E & M U S E U M

- S T. L O U I S , M I S S O U R I

2 0 2 2 L O O K !

S U L F U R S T U D I O S - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 1 A L E X A N D E R I N K

S C A D A L E X A N D E R H A L L - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 1 H O M E C O M I N G

M F A P H O T O G R A P H Y R E V I E W S - G L O B A L

2 0 2 1 L O C A L A R T I S T S H O W C A S E

C E D A R H O U S E G A L L E R Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 1 L A B O R O F L O V E

C U M U L U S P H O T O - V I R T U A L G A L L E R Y

2 0 2 1 I N T R O S P E C T I O N

L U N A C O L L E C T I V E - V I R T U A L G A L L E R Y

2 0 2 0 P O R T C I T Y R E V I E W

S C A D - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 2 0 A R T O F P O R T R A I T

N E W Y O R K , N E W Y O R K

2 0 1 9 C H I L D H O O D

P H O T O P L A C E G A L L E R Y - M I D D L E B E R R Y , V E R M O N T

2 0 1 9 P O R T C I T Y R E V I E W

S C A D - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

2 0 1 9 A R T I S T S B O O K S Y M P O S I U M (G I R L S W A R D : L E F T)

S C A D - A T L A N T A , G E O R G I A

2 0 1 8 T H E R E , T H E I R , T H E Y ’ R E

M O O N R I V E R B R E W I N G C O M P A N Y - S A V A N N A H , G E O R G I A

M O N O G R A P H S :

2 0 2 6 E V E R Y T H I N G T h a t R i s e s

2 0 2 4 E X O D U S

2 0 2 3 I T ’ S A T H U R S D A Y : T H E B O O K O F E V E R Y T H I N G

2 0 2 2 I T ’ S A T H U R S D A Y V O L U M E I I

2 0 2 1 I T ’ S A T H U R S D A Y V O L U M E I

2 0 2 1 H O M E A W A Y F R O M H O M E

2 0 2 1 S E N I O R C O L L E C T I V E

2 0 1 9 M O U L T I N G

2 0 1 9 G I R L S W A R D : L E F T

2 0 1 9 I I

2 0 1 9 L A N C A S T E R B L V D.

P R E S S / P U B L I C A T I O N S :

2 0 2 4 C O N N E C T S A V A N N A H - E X O D U S

S A V A N N A H, G E O R G I A

2 0 2 4 T H E S A V A N N A H I A N - E X O D U S

S A V A N N A H, G E O R G I A

2 0 2 4 C A N V A S R E B E L - M E E T R O B I N E L I S E M A A Y A

N A T I O N W I D E

2 0 2 4 F R E E P I Z Z A P O D C A S T : R O B I N E L I S E M A A Y A

S A V A N N A H, G E O R G I A

2 0 2 4 S T R A N D P O D C A S T : R O B I N E L I S E M A A Y A