Yannis Lobaina is an award-winning Cuban artist, author, filmmaker, photographer, podcaster, and emerging art curator living in Toronto. Born and raised in Cuba, she developed a deep admiration for Mother Nature at an early age. She discovered her passion for photography at the age of 15 when she acquired a second-hand Russian camera, a Zenit 11. From that moment, she realized she had found the perfect tool to bring her imagination to life.
Lobaina is currently focusing on minimalist art photography, capturing the fleeting moments and beauty of the natural world. She explores themes of immigration, diaspora, and motherhood through various storytelling mediums. She has received numerous awards for her photography, writing, and community art projects, including the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Space award twice (2020-2022), as well as recognition from the Toronto Arts Council (2017 and 2019) and the Ontario Arts Council (2021, 2024).

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Walking with my camera is a conscious daily meditation, guiding me to slow down, observe, be patient, and savour the present moment while listening to Mother Nature. She is our sanctuary for healing and renewal.
Mother Nature fuels my photography, igniting my passion to capture fleeting moments that surround me. I aim to reveal the uniqueness and beauty in everyday elements that often go unnoticed. Each detail becomes a vital thread in the narrative I create through my photographic storytelling.
I believe in the power of visual storytelling, I'm passionate about telling stories using a variety of media, including filmmaking, writing and photography. Taking photographs allows me to explore past and present themes, memory, disappearance and loss, and often to reflect on how we see and interpret beauty. My images represent life experiences influenced by memories and dreams and how they often reveal confusing but exciting connections and patterns.