Erli Grünzweil
Poetics Aesthetics Composition series
HIDDEN Bořivojova
4. 10. / 31. 12. 2022
ERLI GRÜNZWEIL (b. 1992) is based in Vienna. His work lays in the intersection of observational and staged photography. The outcome are hybrids which seemingly show ordinary situations or random things, but through aesthetics, types of image production and content it goes deeper and addresses social, political and personal matters.
CONSIDER THINGS is an exploration of the world of things and its relationship to human beings. Things, as part of the artificial and man-made world, served as the starting point for this work. Specifically, destroyed things have initiated and guided the process – contrary to the idea of destructive ending, they stand at the beginning of something new. A space of possibility for reflection and interpretation has opened up. It is an attempt to look at things anew in a time when information is becoming increasingly important and to pay attention to those that are seen as waste and unproductive in the affluent society of the Global North. In the process, new perspectives and connections are sought. The work shows fragments of a world that is not far away from capitalist and consumerist everyday life, but which nevertheless seem surreal and dreamlike. Through manipulation and staging, an attempt is made to create a fiction that condenses situations, states and perceptions. Consider Things invites you to look for connections and find out new things.
What does poetics mean to you?
It’s something I can’t fully understand — in a really good way. Poetry creates room for new thoughts and possibilities. It is never obvious, there is always something in-between the lines, between the image and the viewer or something unclear – sometimes magical – that surrounds things.
What does aesthetics mean to you?
Aesthetics is something that shows on the surface but goes deeper. For me it’s important to be aware of the different kinds of aesthetics like in commercials. It’s an aesthetic based on capitalism and algorithms. In my work i try to find a way to challenge these aesthetics and this gaze on people and things. I’m always looking for new perspectives and ways to look at things more kindly and lovingly.
What does composition mean to you?
For me composition is a proposal to the viewer how to read the image. It suggests where to start, where to go and in which pace. It is a kind of narrator to me. In my work this narrator tries to keep things open and uncanny but at the same time it holds the scenery together as one. Through composition it gets clear that the viewer just sees a fragment of something bigger and indicates a fictional and surreal world.