At first glance the nine-part photographic work »Sunny Side Up« by Jens Lüstraeten, created in 2007 as part of a DAAD scholarship in Las Vegas, deals with US residential areas.

The photographs show tidy facades, meticulously mown lawns, big cars, attention to detail. A representation of a way of life, of status. But they also show discontinued building projects, a wasteland with wildly sprawling oleander or a ‚for sale‘-sign in a withered front garden. At the time of the shoot, few knew about the real estate bubble that was under way and was to burst just half a year later. The effects were to be immense, as we know now. They had a lasting impact on the financial markets and thus above all on the livelihoods of many, not only in the US.

Looking at these pictures today, they do not only point to the pretty fiction of American suburbia. They are also reminiscent of the global financial crisis of the 2000s and thus emblematic for a social system that has surrendered to unleashed financial markets.

Jens Lüstraeten was born in Krefeld in 1973. He studied photography in Bielefeld and Artistic Photography at the HGB Leipzig with Joachim Brohm (diploma 2004). His photographic and video works address aspects of unrestrained capitalism, citing classical documentary traditions, while often incorporating fictional and poetic dimensions. Jens Lüstraeten’s works have been shown internationally. He is currently a fellow of the Kunstfonds des Bundes he lives and works in Berlin.

Simultaneous exhibition at Villa Heike:
Mark Curran »THE MARKET«

Oct 19 — Nov 12, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, Oct 15, 4 – 8 pm
Soft Finissage: Saturday, Nov 12, 2 – 6 pm

Villa Heike

Freienwalder Straße 17 · 13055 Berlin
[District: Alt-Hohenschönhausen | Borough: Lichtenberg]

Opening hours: Wed – Sun 2 – 6 pm, and by appointment

Admission free