Review of Vernissage

(Gene) Robin Johnson’s Review of the Vernissage

DEDICATION, CONCEPT AND LAYOUT

First of all, I wish to take a moment to appreciate the genuine devotion to the project and attention to detail that shone throughout. Following through on any artistic venture may prove difficult, but committing to a vision and curating it for months can definitely be challenging. Motivation may sometimes eventually falter when the goal in mind is far from sight. It is therefore all the more apparent that you have managed to maintain a true affection for the photographic pilgrimage, without compromise or short cuts (figuratively and literally). This is of course an achievement worth acknowledging and celebrating on its own.

 Furthermore, the core concept of embarking on a trekking journey and utilizing physical movement to evoke emotional motion and subsequently intertwining the two counterparts into an artistic amalgam is a captivating idea. Because this amalgam is then also able to set the spectators' contemplation mechanisms into motion, rendering it a symbolically significant and ingenious concept. One could say that it has successfully covered and demonstrated the breadth of the definition of 'movement'. By following the historical footsteps of others, you have simultaneously paved a new path. A pathway that heeds the lessons to be learned from history, but does not restrain or define the future by the past's principles. Perhaps, best described as using the boulders of the past as stepping stones rather than unscalable obstacles.

 Something that also accentuates the core concept is the layout of the exhibition; the fact that it follows a wall. The visitor therefore gets a sense of the emotions you experienced, partly from the photos themselves, partly from the act of walking alongside a wall as they view the collection.

MEDIUM AND CONTENTS

Your chosen medium of analogue black and white photography is an intriguing and apt choice. Monochrome photography heightens the emotional intensity of an image because it portrays the very essence of its subject and forces the viewer to engage with it. The subject and setting remain unfettered by vibrant hues, hues that at times may distract from or indirectly romanticize the photographs. In regards to the undeniable intellectual and societal 'black and white' prejudice that permeated the city's past; the black and white photography effectively depicts this dichotomous and complex past. Additionally, the monochrome image also allows the viewer to mentally color it with their chosen pigments, hence painting their interpretation with whichever palette they desire.

 The analogue aspect of your chosen medium is naturally also a precious addition. It offers a solemn salute to the technological wonders of the past and also invites the spirit of nostalgia and the conservation of history, all whilst maintaining the profundity of a single moment in time. It also showcases the many contemporary elements and inventions that have taken up residence on historical grounds, such as graffiti for example. The directness and instant quality of the Nikon therefore offers a unique snapshot; where the trinity of the past, the present and the future are seamlessly combined.

 The contrast between the urban and the rural landscape that is featured throughout the exhibition, may also be perceived as a metaphor for the contrast between captivity and freedom, a theme that is vital to address in a city that has been extensively plagued by such conflict and contradiction. This is also successfully highlighted in your anecdotes and reflections that accompanied the photographs.

 The selection process that resulted in the seven highlighted and enlarged photographs is also interesting because it directly displays the inner workings of the creative process. In addition, it also relates to the way life is navigated; by choice and the accentuation of the utmost important. In our life we constantly rummage through countless memories, impressions and interpretations and are tasked with navigating and extracting the most significant. The artist's selection process is thus a mirror image of the choice in life and the multitude of options. With our many selected pieces we eventually complete numerous puzzles, collectively making up the master puzzle of life; a process akin to the artist who completes his exhibitions to create his portfolio. In your exhibition, this topic is also prevalent because of the fact that the photographs literally are pieces of a larger puzzle (the puzzle of the exhibition as a whole). Making up a photographic mosaic.

 SUMMARY

A Berlin Winter Pilgrimage; a skillfully depicted present, captured through the lens of one camera; a path shadowed by history's troubled presence and illuminated by a future yet to come. An exhibition where concrete and nature wrestle alongside incarceration and liberation in a black and white realm of reflection. From it, one may take away the following; We may not be able to outrun the past, but through our present choices and actions, we may catch up with and capture the future.