:: From October 1-30, 2009: VERENA BAYER: “Blow-up“
Galerie Spéos
7 rue Jules Vallès, 75011 Paris
-> Download the opening invitation (pdf)
«This photographic series is inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s movie «Blow-up». It questions the relationship between photography & reality. Taking a photograph always means to choose, to take something out of its context. This is intensified by using a very small part of the actual negative.
To capture the moment and to make it timeless is a desire that most of us all know well. A photograph in general is perceived as proof of fact. But by deeply zooming into an image, it looses its capacity as shapes become indifferent. Dimensions are lost and textures become more prominent than the photographed scene. This in turn leads to the question of what we regard as real. For this work Verena uses analog film because the reaction of light on the negative is an immanent part of the image which is unattainable in the digital format. After enlarging the photograph to its maximum, from a 6×6 negative, a small area is selected resulting in very dense images. This allows light to become the center of importance.»
Verena Bayer finished her education at Spéos Paris Photographic Institue in 2000. Upon graduation, she met and worked with Leo Fuchs, a Hollywood veteran who spent 20 years shooting some of the most moving and memorable images of ‘50s and ‘60s film icons. She curated two exhibitions for Leo Fuchs, at the FNAC Montparnasse, Paris, France and at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
In 2000 Verena exhibited her work at the «Sculptures de mode» at Espace Montorgueil, Paris. In 2002 she received the 1st Price at the Ecole Centrale de Paris, for her series «L.A. Driving”. In 2006 she exhibited her series «Berlin-Motion» at St Nicodemus Church, Berlin. Presently Verena lives and works in Berlin.