Artist
Tamara Eckhardt
Tamara Eckhardt, born in 1995, lives and works as a portrait and documentary photographer in Berlin. From 2017-2021 she studied at the Ostkreuzschule for Photography in Berlin. Since 2022 she is a member of the renowned German Agency OSTKREUZ. Her photographic works mainly deal with marginalized social groups and minorities – with a particular focus on documenting adolescence. Her analog photography strives to shed a kind light on her protagonists whom she follows up on for months at a time for each project. Eckhardts expressive portraits give the viewer an intimate insight into the lives of youth in Germany and Ireland. With her work Eckhardt has been awarded and shortlisted for numerous awards such as the Kolga Tbilisi Award,International Woman Photo Award, Gute Aussichten 21/22 Award, BFF Förderpreis, Kuala Lumpur International Photo Award, and the German Youth Photo Award.
info@tamareckhardt.de
www.tamaraeckhardt.com
Youth of the Island Field
St Mary’s Park on King’s Island in Limerick was built in the 1930’s as the city’s first social housing estate. It was established to accommodate families who lived in overcrowded, poor quality housing. Because of its geographic location, bordered by the River Shannon, the estate is almost isolated from the surrounding city - locals and insiders refer to the area as The Island Field. St Mary’s Park is the most socially deprived area in Ireland, it suffers from high levels of unemployment, addiction and social problems. Nevertheless it has a strong community spirit where everyone knows everyone, is fiercely loyal and defensive, and suspicious of outsiders.
Tamara Eckhardt portrays the lives of the young people of St Mary’s Park, continuing her focus on the theme of childhood and growing up. The living conditions in the area are difficult; yet the young people develop coping skills, adapt and find ways to divert themselves.
Eckhardt has revisited the estate over a two year period becoming more familiar with the community. She has spent so much time with the young people that they have come to suspend suspicion and trust in her and her camera.
Daniel Chatard deals with the power dynamics and effects of lignite extraction in the Rhineland, examining the decades-long influence that energy company RWE has had on villages threatened by these industries.
Natalia Kepesz moved to Germany from Poland twenty years ago. She photographed Polish military camps for children, questioning why people in her country of birth love to play war and romanticise it so much in the process.
Josh Kern uses photography to tell stories that are full of drama, looking for hidden hooks to give his work a starting point. His selected project is about the positive relationship he shares with his girlfriend Asli – a topic he chose when wondering if so much positivity is healthy.
Angelina Vernetti sees her photo project EVERY BODY as a utopian narrative of realisable ideals of beauty, whilst SMILE EFFEKT examines the socio-cultural status of the birth control pill in Germany.
Tamara Eckhardt’s projects deal mainly with marginalised social groups – with a particular focus on documenting adolescence. She strives to shed light on her protagonists, whom she follows for months in the making of a project.