aff Galerie | Emanuel Raab & Sarah Straßmann »About image and space«

Since the discovery of photography it has been accompanied by discussions about truth and fiction, about documentation and its interpretations. One recurring genre well suited to elaborate these concepts of perception is architecture. It always had great significance in the developement of the history and theories on the photographic medium itself.

The aff gallery presents two contemporary photographic positions working with this tension between truth and fiction – Sarah Strassmann and Emanuel Raab.
The exhibition “About image and space“ shows their work focussing on perseption and interpretation of architecture and constructed space. They formulate theses on archicture and spaciousness aswell as pointing out the ambivalence within the photographic image.

In his series “Bild-Raum“ Emanuel Raab works with the phenomenon of abstraction through extrem perspectives, turning the image and the use of unusual framing. Following Moholy-Nagys media theory stating „photography is lighting design“ Raab is interested in how light affects change in perception of architecure through the image. As the view shifts from a static image to a more dynamic one he provoces ambiguity within the observer. The dense correlation of the architecture and its image through composition and reception culminates in reversible figures of two- and three-dimensional effects. The image space becomes a realm of experience for the always for orientation searching eye. Despite the remaining visibility of concret architecture the abstraction retains. The degree of abstraction grows even larger throughout the series into almost monochrome coloration with blinding brightness evoking thoughts of transcendent and virtual space. As in the shimmering surface of screens the tactile boundary seems to be disappearing.

Following an invitation of the director of the museum MARTa Herfort in spring of 2015 Sarah Strassmann begun to shoot behind the scene of the museum’s reconstruction. The series was supposed to be part of the 10th anniversary publication of the museum. The images of these “non-places“ try to get a sense of the atmosphere balancing out the variations of light and shade, showing staircases, the attic and basement, unending aisles, doors, elevators, shafts, pipes, walls and chasms. While she was exploring the space she got trapped in the intermediate floor of the largest museums gallery. “As a child I used to have this dream about getting chased. Most of the time it was an unknown danger hunting me through the house and I knew the title had to be “The Chase“, the artist would state later. The body of work “The Chase“ examines the presentability of absence, invisibility and the subconscious.
Light, shade, reflections, surfaces and materials develope their own independent existence and contribute to a composition pointing beyond the depicted. In addition to personal associations the relation between space and its representation aswell as the meaning of space as places of rememberance are being questioned.