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Reviewed Online Buy Art Gallery
Natalie Czech
Natalie Czech - '50 Photographers of Tomorrow'
Exceptional places
Written by: Yilmaz Dziewior / Katrin Sauerlaender
What makes the site depicted in Natalie Czech's photographs exceptional was the political and economic decision to sacrifice entire villages to brown-coal opencast mining, in this case Garzweiler II. Some of the images subtly reflect the harshness and drama of such an evacuation.
A once papered-over doorway, for instance, looks as if it had been ripped open in an act of vandalism. The point of view selected by the artist gives only a partial view into the room with its red carpet. As in the shot of a beige-tiled bathroom, the angle of view and the slightly dramatic handling of lighting lend the scene an eerie air; here, too, there are traces of dereliction.
Many of the images give an idea of the living conditions and social position of the evacuated inhabitants. Wood-panelling and photo-wallpapers indicate their preferences for petty-bourgeois "luxuries".
But aside from these sociological aspects, the photographs are artistic creations in their own right, raising issues of composition and form. They often possess a stage-like, filmic dimension. This is clearest in the photograph of a bare wooden wall. Over the years, the wall has grown dark, except where pictures and decorations once hung, visible now as lighter areas. One thinks of a showcase stage at the theatre.
While people as physical beings are absent from Natalie Czech's photographs, their aesthetic preferences and erstwhile deeds guarantee them an abiding, temporal presence. Natalie Czech's photographs illustrate how exceptions are anvariably connected with the everyday, even when they only mirror its loss.
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Natalie Czech art styles:
No styles could be found.
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Contact Information:
email: mail@natalieczech.de
visit artist's website: www.natalieczech.de/
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