N.N.
The first few images emerge during a meeting on a train, talking, taking notes, in the head, on the move. The photographers Boris Mikhailov and Sascha Weidner work. In Braunschweig, more than 500 citizens have signed up to take part in a theatre project. These individuals will become a chorus of speakers.
The first gathering in the theatre. The project is presented. Director Claudia Bosse talks about a unified rhythm for all bodies which needs to be developed, the photographers are capturing images with their cameras � this is how the theatre-photo-projects begins. It has no title yet. History and the stories of the participants will shape it, just as the gaze of the photographers on them, their chorus and their city will. About the new reality in the middle of Europe, where people start work on the oldest existing tragedy in the history of theatre.
Boris Mikhailov and Sascha Weidner observe the rehearsal and work process of the THEATERFORMEN production �The Persians�. The chorus, which in Ancient Greece was made up of the citizens of Athens, is the main character in the Greek tragedy. In Claudia Bosse�s production this chorus consists of approximately 500 people from Braunschweig and the region.
The series of photographs which emerge from the process not only make the theatre project and its participants visible in the cityscape, but are also a work of art in themselves.
The photographs will be collected in a book to be published after the end of the theatre project.
The photo-project is made possible with the generous support of the
and the
Boris Mikhailov (*1938 in Charkov, UdSSR/Ukraine)
Boris Mikhailov has been a name in the Western European and American influenced arts scene since the early Nineties. His work has been published in several arts books and won a number of important prizes (The Hasselblad Award 2000, City Bank Photography Prize 2003). Renowned art galleries regularly present his work in exhibitions. Boris Mikhailov documents life in Soviet society, its decay and the subsequent social changes in his many photo series. His work combines documentary and conceptual aspects. He focuses on the language of bodies, which reveals the social and political imprinting of the individual and the social functioning of groups. This is combined with the constant irruption of ideas of identity, a questioning of the relevance of experiences and of moral judgements. At the same time, Mikhailov�s work displays a strong humanistic attitude. Boris Mikhailov lives in Berlin and Charkov/ Ukraine.
Sascha Weidner (*1976 in Osnabr�ck)
Sascha Weidner studied Photo Design at the HBK Braunschweig. He was taught by D�rte Ei�feld and now lives in Berlin. In 2006 he received the promotion prize in photography by the NBank Hannover. His work has been presented internationally in various exhibitions. Sascha Weidner focuses on a radically subjective point of view. His working method is related to Boris Mikhailov�s in the way it seemingly unconditionally turns towards the object, an emotionally influenced �close-up view� with a strong affinity to the fringes of what is normally at the centre of public attention.
On the artists: Inka Schube, curatorship Photography & New Media, Sprengel Museum Hannover
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