ONLINE DOSSIER: CRITIC ANNOTATION
The first photographers in my online dossier are female photographers that inspire me in my general way of approaching photography. May it be the elegance and confidence of Kat Irlin's images, the intimacy and closeness of Lina Scheynius's artworks, the graphical approach of Viviane Sassen or the use of minimal resources by Stefanie Moshammer. Especially Moshammer's simple working method stimulates me to find a way how to photograph in isolation with the materials I have available: not excusing that I am limited but being above it and seeing it as an opportunity.
The two artists Anatol Knotek and Melody Hansen, both not photographers, encourage me with their styles to work with simple compositions: less is more. Their art has an effect because it is on point and nothing distracts from what they want to say, which makes it blunt and forthright but also less forgiving.
In a similar way I look at Hiroshi Sugimoto's »Colors of Shadow« architectural photographs. As I am working with architecture in my photography, his series shows that a simple corner might tell a more interesting story than photographing a whole room.
All the mentioned artists so far, influence and encourage me with my technical approach to this project: minimal and simple.
Two photographers, who use projection in their projects in different ways, are John Clang and Sonja Kranz. John Clang's »Being Together« tells the interesting story of living away from his family. I can relate to that and this might be even more relevant for how I continue my project. Additionally, he uses his shadow in the images in a clever way, making clear that only one person is in the photographed room and the others are part of the projection. In my photographs I use gaps and layering of projection surfaces as well, with the intention to show the technique of projection.
During this whole project I am thinking of privacy: sharing pictures of the place I live in and intimate emotions I am going through. I am usually a very private person and extremely cautious about what I reveal of myself. Aware that I will have to open up some more to make the project interesting, I searched for photographers that share a lot about themselves and get an insight on these artists' view. The icp offered several online Zoom lectures with Elinor Carucci, which I attended. Carucci did not only talk about showing her private surroundings and her family to the public, but also about using photography as a way to communicate and understand her own life. Both these aspects are continuous relevant and I will further explore them throughout my work.
To get more ideas about projections, photographs of projections and the effect of projecting, I look at the work by Abelardo Morell and Robyn Stacey. Their use of a whole room, including furniture, in their camera obscura might show a new way to explore my project.