In these photographic works, the technical medium of photography is not used as the most accurate and precise means of recording selected events in a given situation.
On the contrary: by experimenting with typical photographic variables such as exposure time, aperture, (manual) focus and depth of field, stillness and movement, cropping and colourfulness, and by incorporating natural and existing lighting conditions, photographs are created that play with, and even compete with, the viewer’s viewing habits.
And so these photographs transform the visual reality of simple branches, leaves, flowers and fungi into an irrational, almost unreal reality, whilst remaining abstract. Plants take on an almost zoological presence. The fish’s mouth is a fungus, the dry flower is not a snake, the swimming rat is a twig.
The photography series is not oriented towards traditional viewing habits and does not seek to evoke recognition or familiarity. The photographs invite viewers to integrate their own fantasies, associations, longings and feelings into their viewing experience.
The works play on the human impulse to categorise and name nature. At the heart of the project, therefore, lies the question of how perception works and to what extent visual similarities shape our conception of living things. The series is intended as a poetic exploration of the kinship between all organic forms.
