COMMON GROUND
A GROUP EXHIBIT OF THE FEMALE PHOTOCLUB
BAHNWÄRTER THIEL, MUNICH
06 2025
INFINITY MIRROR [B SIDE: MICHELLE]
A mirror is stuck in a sandy beach at dawn. A dress printed with photographs of human skin is draped over the mirror. The dress surprisingly suggests human presence – even though there is no person there. Photo artist Lily Alssen loves to make the invisible, undetectable and hidden tangible in her works.
For her photo series Infinity Mirror [B Side], she therefore photographs people, transfers the photographs onto fabric and uses them to create items of clothing. These are then deliberately arranged on objects. With this interplay of visibility and absence, object and body, she succeeds in reversing the classic portrait representation: clothing – otherwise supposedly a mere accessory – functions as a second skin and creates presence, even if the body is missing. Lily thus shows how portraits are created beyond physical presence and how identity remains tangible beyond the human.
LILY ALSSEN
Lily Alssen is a visual artist working primarily with photography. She holds a Master of Photography from RMIT in Melbourne and a Bachelor with Honours in Communication Design, having studied in Germany and Ireland. Her work is shaped by early experiences with analog photography and time spent in the darkroom. With a minimalist, precise and graphic aesthetic, she explores the dimensions of identity and perception. Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Germany and Lithuania. Alongside her artistic practice, she has worked for many years as an art director, realising numerous international projects with a focus on photography and concept.
Infinity Mirror [B Side: Michelle] is part of the series Infinity Mirror [B Side], in which portraits emerge without bodies – through garments made from photographic fragments of specific individuals.
These works speak of presence in absence, of the body as a trace – and of how identity remains tangible beyond the visible shell.
nikola [set]. 2021. and michelle [skin dress]. 2021. and qi [smock]. 2021.
INFINITY MIRROR [B SIDE]
What remains of a portrait when the person portrayed is not present?
In Infinity Mirror [B Side], the focus shifts from the body to its trace – to a garment created specifically for an individual, made from photographs of their skin, gestures, and presence.
This fragile second skin is no longer worn, but carefully arranged – on an object, in a landscape, in a moment of stillness.
The resulting images depict absence, yet speak powerfully of someone.
They ask: Where does identity begin – and where does it remain when the person is no longer visible?
More on the series and its predecessor can be found on the original project pages: Infinity Mirror [B Side] and Infinity Mirror.
COMMON GROUND
Bahnwärter Thiel, Munich – 5–27 June 2025
As part of the exhibition COMMON GROUND, Infinity Mirror [B Side] becomes a contribution to the dialogue on proximity and difference, presence and absence. The exhibition brings together 20 artistic perspectives on what separates and connects us. It does not seek consensus, but rather space for friction – and encounter.
My work offers a quiet suggestion:
Perhaps what we share is most tangible where someone is missing – yet still felt.