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Installation Shots from "Critical Distance" in Erfurt

Above you see "Untitled" (2009), left, two digital frames with parallel slide shows (photos taken in the US in the left frame, images from Germany on the right; the image numbers are off by one in order to perpetually change the juxtapositions), and the triptych "What Place?" (2009), a c-print.

Below, the image "Zur Heimat" (2006/2009) and the second triptych "Engineered Desire" (2009). All photos are editions of five (+2 AP); the digital frame diptych is an edition of two (+1 AP). Please contact me via e-mail, if you are interested.

Thüringer Allgemeine, September 28th, 2009

Thüringer Landeszeitung, October 2nd, 2009

Vernissage für "Critical Distance"

Zur Eröffnung meiner Ausstellung "Critical Distance" in der Galerie des Verbandes Bildender Künstler Thüringen e.V. im Haus zum Bunten Löwen (Krämerbrücke 4, 99084 Erfurt) am Montag, den 28. September 2009 um 18 Uhr laden wir Euch und Eure Freunde recht herzlich ein. Die Ausstellung wird vom 28.9. bis 25.10.2009 zu sehen sein. Die Öffnungszeiten sind von Dienstag bis Freitag, 11-19 Uhr, und am Samstag, 10-14 Uhr.

[For all English speakers who might find themselves in Germany on Monday, September 28th: Please join us at the opening reception to my exhibition "Critical Distance" at the gallery in Haus zum Bunten Löwen (Krämerbrücke 4, 99084 Erfurt) at 6 pm. The exhibition will run from 09/28 to 10/25/2009. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Fridays, 11am-7pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm.]

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"Auf der Suche nach einem passenden Begriff, der meine uneindeutige Beziehung zu einer geografisch, kulturell und gefühlsmäßig definierten Heimat beschreiben könnte, stieß ich auf das niederländische Wort unheimisch. Bei unheimisch muss ich an ‚entwurzelt’ oder ‚nicht zu Hause’ denken, aber die Niederländer haben das Wort aus meiner Muttersprache adaptiert, jedoch fälschlich in Verbindung zu ‚heimisch’, um damit etwas als ‚unheimlich’ zu bezeichnen. Und obwohl unheimisch ein wunderbarer und durchaus nützlicher Begriff wäre, er existiert so leider nicht im deutschen Wortschatz. Es ist ein Wort, das von einer Sprache in eine andere migrierte, ohne je in ersterer zu Hause gewesen zu sein."

(aus Unheimisch, dem Vorwort meines Buchprojektes Critical Distance – a perpetual absence of home)

Upcoming cover for "parallax"

The upcoming issue of "Parallax", a peer reviewed journal that brings "together outstanding work in cultural studies, critical theory and philosophy", will feature a montage of my images under the title of "Disturbing Spaces" on the cover. The issue will also include a small portfolio of images on the inside pages. It is published by Routledge and should be out and available by November 2009.

Three weeks in Delhi, India

I just returned from a work-related trip to Delhi (India) where I spend the better part of August. Although I was working during most of my stay, I had a couple days off, at the end, that allowed me to explore the city with open eyes and camera. I'm still trying to digest all the varied impressions and experiences. We will see what might develop out of the resulting photographs and notes. I'll keep you posted.

New prints

I am delighted to introduce two new images of mine from the series "Critical Distance - a perpetual absence of home":

"What Place?" and "Engineered Desire" (both 2009)
Digital c-prints, 37 x 115 cm (~45.3 x 14.6 inches)
editions of five (+2 AP)

The images can be seen in Erfurt (Germany) at my small solo exhibition titled after the series opening September 27th, 2009. If you are interested in one or both photographs, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at contact@danielblochwitz.com.

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Just the shortest of a descriptive blurb for each image:

The image above, "What Place?", is a take on utopia in the context of Heimat, or home/land. Every place I have lived in portrayed itself as a "better world" while the reality was/is, of course, far from it. In this triptych, we look down at a poster of Neuschwanstein castle, in the left image, that asks, "what makes utopia so smooth?" while we gaze upwards at "workers & dreamers" in the right-side image (with a bird and fence structure on the roof). And in between, the middle image simply states, "Well, you've come to the wrong place."

The triptych below, "Engineered Desire", is meant as a juxtaposition of darker political ideologies with the sinister flipside of Western neo-liberalism and post-modernism, namely market fundamentalism and excessive consumption, a culture bracketed by nihilism and hedonism, and the search for a sense of home within it all.

(click images to enlarge)

On the streets of New York ...

(click image to enlarge)

This is what my very first camera looked like

I got a camera just like this for my first day at school. I was seven. It was in my "Zuckertüte", a colorful cardboard cone typically filled to the rim with candy and toys.