My work focuses on global issues, the pitfalls of capitalism, human impact on Earth's ecosystems, the ambiguity of scientific images. These hard to grasps, abstract concepts construct my photographic work.
Coming from a background in Liberal Arts has informed the way I create projects. Drawing concepts from Philosophy and Cultural Studies, I step in with metaphorical images to fill in the gaps where words fall short. If I could sum up my working method in one word it would be questioning. Questioning the social structures which shape us, questioning the art market, questioning the ratrace of todays individualism. But also questioning myself as an artist all the time, why and to whom do I create my work for.
My longstanding interest in photography’s ambiguity — how we are trained to treat photographs as evidence while also approaching them with intense suspicion – is palpable throughout my practice as a photographer. Harnessing this tension,I present the viewer with the implications of a very real phenomenon without adhering to straight documentary methods that habitually signal truth. Instead, I mix genres to produce my visual universe.
THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
Graduation Project
A racehorse staring at us blindfolded. A golden ladder in the middle of a tranquil mountain range. A miniature town on flames.
Metaphorical images to fill in the gaps where words fall short.
The starting point for the project lies in my anxiety and frustration with the contemporary condition. A mistrust of narratives that our privileged western free world societies lied down for us. Under a neoliberal economy, we are the main beneficiaries and establishers of capitalism. We negligently ignore those we exploit in order the maintain the system, albeit see daylight when it comes to our prestige.
The hegemony of capitalism was taken closely with a new ideology, the importance of individual responsibility. We became achievement-oriented individuals, exploiting ourselves willingly without the need for external coercion. We live in a society where material abundance seems to be the key to fulfillment, where we are meant to believe that no matter where we start from with hard work we can get to the top. In the current world, we are achievement-oriented individuals eager to fulfill ourselves, we became alienated from our communities, without realizing that growth-oriented approach is not sustainable in the long run.
This kind of individualism led to the belief that we think that the world exists for the benefit of mankind. We crave perfectionism but at the same time use the Earth’s resources as if there’s no tomorrow.
Through symbols, allegories, image pairs, a poetic approach emerges to entangle these issues. My aim with the project is not to lecture, or to lay down a strict story, nor to interpret economic issues. But to take the viewer on a journey where there are no clear answers but instead ambiguous questions, which we have to ask sooner or later as we are not only heirs of the system but also suffer under it.
SEE DAYLIGHT
Thesis
See Daylight is an attempt to understand and question the market forces that shape young artists of today. It’s not a text that takes this challenge easily. It does not want to lie down a strict story, or one interpretation of our current discourses, but instead, challenge and take the reader on a journey. By breaking the fourth wall, it speaks directly to the reader in an attempt to start a conversation that is unfolding and by no means is closed or finished. It is a playful, self-reflective, open-ended conversation between reader and writer.
The work starts with the analysis of postmodern discourse, and how postmodern ways of production still frame the cultural logic of today. This chapter equips the reader with the skill set to interpret and question the narratives of cultural conflicts which transformed the Western World into a tense, divided society.
The following chapters sketch out how neoliberal modes of production changed our perception of reality and our workday. The framework of consumer society and competitive individualism how an entire generation called the Millennials were faced with a new ideology, centered around the importance of individual responsibility. After the analysis of political forces that abandoned collectivism and placed its emphasis on the empowerment of the individual and their progress as the key to success, the thesis untangles some of the ways in which these forces affected the art market from the 1970s onwards, and how these power relations are still affecting artists today.
It’s a book for young artists starting out today in the art market, trying to survive and be seen. There are many books out there that are meant to give carrier advice to the new generation. How to reach audiences, how to sell your work, how to find a gallery, basically how to make it.
See Daylight challenges these discourses. Instead of offering a business plan for individuals out there eager to fulfill themselves, it questions these power relations and market forces. It is a conversation, not a one-way critique of the art market, but instead hopefully a start of a critical, honest conversation.