© Dana Lixenberg
Each artistic position offers its own perspective on the central theme of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse, the “conditio humana” – the exploration of the conditions of human existence and its position in the world. The artists investigate how the medium responds to questions of identity and community – ranging from personal experiences as well as cultural and historical contexts to questions of belonging and social inequality. Furthermore, they address the complex relationship between humans and nature, be it in the form of human interventions in natural habitats or the reciprocal impact of urban landscapes on individuals and the community.
“Look at Us. 25 Years of Art Collection Deutsche Börse” presents more than 120 photographs by 22 international artists: Sabiha Çimen, Lynne Cohen, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Mitch Epstein, Lucas Foglia, Samuel Fosso, Paul Graham, Marvel Harris, Candida Höfer, Lebohang Kganye, Hsu-Pin Lee, Helen Levitt, Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Jack Lyons, Sabelo Mlangeni, Gordon Parks, Inge Rambow, Thomas Ruff, Aida Silvestri, Chi Yin Sim, Vanessa Winship and Tobias Zielony.
The themes of the exhibition The artists explore how photography supports the questioning and manifestation of identities in different yet always highly personal and therefore touching ways. Whether it is in the depiction of the physical and psychological challenges of his gender transformation, as in the case of the young artist Marvel Harris, or in the photographic dialogue that Lebohang Kganye seeks with her deceased mother to explore her own identity in post-apartheid South Africa. In her combination of images and text, Eritrean-born artist Aida Silvestri conveys the ordeal of refugees from her home country on their way to England in an intense way, though keeping their anonymity. Samuel Fosso himself is the protagonist of his works, slipping into various roles of important African and Northern American supporters of the Black population in their struggle for equal rights and independence on both continents. While Thomas Ruff and Philip-Lorca diCorcia both address the limits of the photographic portrait when capturing individuals, they do so in different ways: diCorcia photographs passers-by on the streets of New York City, unnoticed and from far away, while Ruff’s portraits show his protagonists at close range, laying bare every detail, pore and wrinkle. In both cases, however, the portraits provide no information about the subjects’ origins, emotional world, or lives; they remain on the surface.
Often, the questioning of one’s own identity is closely linked to a reflection of communal belonging. Daniel Jack Lyons’ works deal with this issue, showing the lives of young people in the heart of Brazil’s Amazon region. As members of the local trans and queer community, they explore their own identity in the context of origin and tradition. Sabiha Çimen’s works provide a glimpse into everyday life within other, less accessible communities: those of Koran girls’ schools in Turkey. Her photographs convey an intimate impression of what it means to grow up in a strictly religious cosmos. Through their sensitive and respectful approach, both artists succeed in creating visibility for communities facing marginalisation. This also applies to the works of Sabelo Mlangeni, who portrays members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the cities and rural areas of South Africa and paints a cheerful picture of queer life. The persistent restrictions imposed on the Black population in the US in the 1950s and the tense relationship between ethnicity, living space and social participation are the subjects of the landscape photographs and portraits by Gordon Parks. Dana Lixenberg’s work shows that these issues remain part of everyday life for many Black people in the US to this day. In a project spanning 20 years, she documents the daily challenges, as well as the social cohesion among residents of a Los Angeles social housing project.
Other artists represented in the exhibition approach the influence of the urban environment on coexistence, everyday life, and peoples’ habits from different angles. Paul Graham captures daily rituals in the isolated US suburbs of the early 21st century, while Helen Levitt focuses on the lively routines of children playing in the urban canyons of New York City in the 1940s. The identity-forming aspect of urban space is also illustrated in the works of Tobias Zielony, where young adults meet in car parks or petrol stations and pose for his camera individually or in groups. Mitch Epstein found his subjects on various road trips through the US. His works show popular leisure activities of the 1970s and 1980s in places that seem rather unusual and unattractive from today’s perspective. The interplay of evolving nature, the urban landscape and its individuals is evident in Vanessa Winship’s photographs, weaving together images of streets, views of buildings, striking portraits, and close-ups of nature into an associative narrative. Finally, Candida Höfer and Lynne Cohen offer different perspectives on public and semi-public spaces as a backdrop for human interaction, even though both artists’ works are always devoid of people. While Höfer’s photographs of reading rooms or corridors in libraries and schools reflect their use and cultural significance for society, the effect of Cohen’s interior shots is bizarre, not least due to the total absence of human interaction.
The profound and ambivalent relationship between man and nature is the subject of Lucas Foglia’s photographs. Capturing the lives of communities in the most remote areas of the western US, they highlight the rapid changes in the use of the region’s Media Release as of 12 September 2024, page 3
natural resources. Similarly, Chi Yin Sim illustrates the far-reaching consequences of human intervention in nature by showing the uncontrolled extraction and displacement of the natural resource sand in Singapore, Malaysia and China. Inge Rambow also visualises the traces of industrial intervention in nature, and in doing so captures an almost deceptive beauty. It is only at second glance that her pointed ridges, rugged canyons, and calm waters reveal themselves to be abandoned surface coal mining areas in former East Germany. Civilisation and the forces of nature impressively clash in Hsu Pin Lee’s work: after a powerful typhoon had swept through his native Taiwan, the artist captured the remains of destroyed houses and streets, set against an awe-inspiring landscape.
“Look at Us. 25 Years of Art Collection Deutsche Börse” is curated by Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Photography Foundation, in collaboration with British curator Mariama Attah. Attah has been advising the Photography Foundation as Associate Curator on the further development of its collection since early 2023 as part of a two-year collaboration.
The exhibition programme
As part of the “Open Saturday” on 30 November 2024, the exhibition curators, Anne-Marie Beckmann and Mariama Attah, will guide visitors through the show. They will discuss the fresh perspectives and narratives which the recent acquisitions contribute to the Art Collection Deutsche Börse and talk about how they enter into a dialogue with groups of works that are already part of the collection. The guided tours will be held in English at 11.30 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. Mariama Attah is a curator of contemporary photography, author and lecturer. She is particularly interested in the significance of photography in shaping a diverse visual cultural history, with a focus on artistic positions depicting and broaching the subjects of ethnic, gender, religious and social diversity.
The Cube, Mergenthalerallee 61, Eschborn
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