Born to an Austrian mother and a Lebanese father, Tanya spent her early childhood in Beirut. Growing up between two very different cultures, she experienced not only cultural enrichment but also a profound alienation from the concept of "home". This sense of disruption and search defines Tanya’s photographic work throughout the years. Later on, while in Austria, she completed high school and graduated from fashion school. Soon after, she developed a growing interest in photography, around which she now centers her practice.
Tanya’s work explores highly personal themes of belonging, identity and memory and makes use of the image as a narrative tool. In her practice, Tanya often pairs her photographic work with material from her own family archive, in both of which Beirut is a significant recurring theme.
Her work has been exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions. Her most recent body of work Beirut, recurring dream was on show in 2022 at De Factorij Brussels, Jaou Tunis, and Abbaye de Jumiéges. In recent years, she has exhibited at Kunsthalle Wien, Beirut Art Center, Bildraum 01, and numerous other venues.
Tanya’s photographs are featured in several notable print and online publications such as Monocle, Konfekt Magazine, Brownbook, Colors Magazine, Phases Magazine, The Wire and many others. Her body of work documenting the Lebanese alternative music scene was assembled in the 2010 publication Untitled Tracks: On Alternative Music in Beirut. Her monograph, entitled Lost Strange Things: On not finding home, was published by Triton in 2014.
Her first short film Son of the sun (2021) recounts the explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020 and has been screened at renowned film festivals such as DIAGONALE ‘23, LE FIFA and IDFA.
In 2013, she was awarded The Boghossian Foundation Prize for the series Seules.
Tanya is represented by Galeria Ponto de Fuga for Latin America.