GO, GET SOME AIR
listen to audio here
INFO
The work “go get some air” explores power imbalances within our society and the privileges that come with them. Taking a breath—getting air—is equated with the ability to pause from work and daily life. It symbolizes the freedom to breathe, as opposed to constantly gasping for air, struggling to survive at the edge of subsistence.
Through photography and a text-based audio recording, the artists examine different positions within these power structures, highlighting the gap between those who are dependent and those who oppress—those who have air in abundance.
My photographic work uses water as a medium between object and subject. Using an analog underwater camera, she submerges the lens and captures images without looking through the viewfinder—surrendering control and expectation. The water divides the scene into two realms—above and below, loud and quiet, heavy and weightless, observer and observed. This division generates a sense of hierarchy and gives rise to emotions like confinement, frustration, and anger.
The audio piece by Hanna Freitag and myself documents a dialogue that mirrors this division of above and below, emphasizing the resulting power dynamics on another level. The text is based on a chat conversation that unfolds over an extended period, simulating a kind of dialogue between two individuals. One voice takes on the role of the oppressed, the other that of a privileged person positioned "above the water." Often, they fail to engage with each other directly, speaking past one another or clinging to their own perspectives.
Meaning begins to blur, leaving the listener with an open-ended narrative—inviting them to interpret freely, to take a position, or simply absorb what they hear.
Photographies and audio exhibited at Pforzheim Galerie (07.2024)