The artists nominated by
What do we know about the time we’re living in? Geopolitical power relations are shifting constantly. Today, we encounter the emotional backlashes of the West-East binary having been taken down with the Berlin wall 35 years ago, leaving us with less prominent and scattered power constellations in which to find our coordinates anew. This disorientation is enhanced by the gigantic collective challenges posed by the legacies of all post- and neo-isms (post- & neocolonialism, neoliberalism, post-covid traumata, short for all kinds of ideologies in a global age).
The question that drives us, both individually and collectively, is how to give voice to or find words for this state of being? ‘In Search for the Present’ is a borrowed title from the recently published collection of translated essays by the versatile, ingenious Flemish writer Stefan Hertmans (Die Suche nach der Gegenwart - Essays für eine Zeit der Übergänge, Diogenes, 2024). Healing words in a time of transition. Hertmans’ essayistic diagnoses of the present follow a similar attempt as the five artists we have selected to benefit from and to contribute to FUTURES, in sensing, finding and expressing their orientation points on the current open sea to become potential light beams helping us to navigate through the present.
For the selection, we considered all artists who showed their works in our format Artist Feature during the year 2023. Every week, Artist Feature enables photographers and image makers to present their previously selected single image in the context of its larger original series, after having been part of either a collaborative project or featured in our monthly Guest Room. Within this already preselected Artist Feature collection, we were seeking outstanding quality and/or innovative approaches despite any thematic correlation, their countries of origin/residence or professional backgrounds. Nevertheless, the selected artists all thematize – though very differently – personal, emotional, geopolitical or societal shifts. To the question posed at the beginning of this text regarding what we know of the present, Hertmans responds that only one thing is for sure – that we feel when things are changing.
All five artists we have gathered together here are courageous explorers of their own worlds and circumstances, expressing both the individual and collective insecurities of a world in transition. Their approaches are those of ‘lesser knowing’, focusing instead on intuitive feeling to make sense of the present.
Born in Taranto in 1993, after graduating in Cultural Heritage, Claudia Fuggetti attended the Master's degree in Photography and Visual Design at NABA, Milan. Subsequently, she graduated with honors in Digital Cultures at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. Her works have been exhibited at Les Rencontres de la Photographie Arles (FR), Fotofestival Lenzburg (CH), Copenhagen Photo Festival (DK), Rotterdam Photo Festival (NL), PhMuseum Days (IT), Geste Paris (FR), Giovane Fotografia Italiana (IT) and MIA Fair (IT). She is also one of the 150 emerging talents in Europe for Fresh Eyes by GUP Magazine and British Journal of Photography's Edition 365 winner.
Henriette Sabroe Ebbesen (b. 1994) is an autodidact photographer and film director born in Odense, Denmark. Ebbesen is interested in the intersection between science and art. Formally educated as a medical doctor, her artworks are small science experiments on how the human body, psyche, and world in general can be visualized and interpreted, depending on the mind and eyes of the beholder.
Ebbesen works with reflections to create surreal effects in her work: "In my work, I aim to play with the sense of reality that we relate to the photograph by distorting the objects and space within the picture frame. With these effects, I aim to surprise and confuse and leave one with the question of what is real." Conceptually her works often deal with identity and the subconscious self affected by and interrelated with the surrounding world.
Ilir Tsouko is a visual storyteller (photography and film), was born in Albania, grew up in Athens, and is based now in Berlin and Tirana, Albania. He is working on long-term projects revolving around the perception and creation of identity with its ever-changing shapes. Ilir’s work has been published by DIE ZEIT MAGAZIN, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Arte TV among others. Ilir’s work has been exhibited at Helsinki Photo Festival, 9. f/stop - Festival für Fotografie, Humble Arts Foundation New York City, Space 52 Athens. He won the IJ4EU- Investigative Journalism for Europe in 2021.
Marcus Reinola Reistad (b. 1991) is a Norwegian artist based in Oslo, he studied at Valand Academy and Oslo National Academy of The Arts. Working with photography, video, and text his practice deals with exploring geographical and environmental narratives, masculinity, and the balance between play and violence. Reistads work has previously been shown at The 134th Autumn Exhibition, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Gallery Thomassen, Gothenburg, and 254Forest, Brussels.
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