Senne 1 & 2
Simon Grunert
Senne is a very real place, yet it only exists as a photographic space within a two-volume tale. Though the title refers to a specific stretch of land, it quickly becomes apparent that Senne is a construct. Lacking a sense of time and place, the photographs offer a blueprint for a region of my own design. It is both imaginary and eerily familiar. Recurring themes in German society are condensed, undergoing a grotesque transformation. According to Aristotle, “probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities”. Following this dictum, seemingly fictional elements are interwoven with the topography and folklore we expect and know. From this constant negotiation between ourselves and the other, the artificial and the natural, the good and the bad, a different world emerges. Senne 1 & 2 should be read as a documentary project guided by what is plausible rather than facts. The parallel world that this constructivist approach generates lets us draw new conclusions about our own reality.
Simon Grunert (b. 1990) is a German photographer and graphic designer. He holds a Bachelor's degree in North American Studies and a Masters in Photography from the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Gent. With a focus on photobooks, Grunert utilises a documentary approach to build imaginary realms and topographies. His work has been exhibited in various institutions in Germany and France, and has featured in publications such as Camera Austria International.
Wbsite: simongrunert.com