Mariya Kozhanova – SINGLE CELL OF THE SOUL
Vernissage am Samstag, dem 11. Juli 2020 um 19.00 h
Sehen Sie in unserer ersten Ausstellung nach Ausbruch der Conona-Pandemie eine neue Arbeit der aus Russland kommenden und in Berlin lebenden Fotografin und Künstlerin Mariya Kozhanova. Inspiriert durch Zen-Gärten zeigt Mariya Fotografien, Objekte aus Papier und filigrane Skulpturen. Gegenstand der Arbeit ist das innere und äußere Sehen. Weißes Papier wird zu einem Raum für Meditation.
Bitte betreten Sie die Galerieräume maskiert. Wir hoffen auf einen warmen Sommerabend mit schönen Getränken im Freien vor unserer Galerie.
The exhibition presents new artworks of Mariya Kozhanova on inner and outer ways of seeing that will consist of photographic works, paper and miniature sculptures. Nowadays, as photographing became a habit, we are slowly forgetting how to see. The camera is replacing our capability to memorize our visual experiences. Without the ability to record, our memories consist only of fuzzy scraps of moments that we hardly could recall. Our eyes follow the speed of successive images with no rest. It needs consciousness to start “seeing” again.
The delicate wire sculptures are based on the authors original life drawings and became a part for the embossed prints series. It recalls the outer shape of the human body. The fascination for light could go far beyond photography. The images are transforming as light is changing. They reveal or hide its subject. “I dreamt to create images with light and shadow that would exist and change in real-time. Not to be constant.”
The inspiration for these artworks comes from Zen Gardens that were intended to imitate the essence of nature and not its actual appearance. “You need to calm your eyes to start seeing and then it becomes a place of meditation.” While white paper symbolizes purity, emptiness and distance, it serves as an aid to meditation on body and mind.
Mariya Kozhanova was born in 1986 in Kaliningrad, Russia. Mariya’s work have been featured in numerous exhibitions, including FotoFest Houston, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Seoul Photo Festival, Paraty em Foco Festival, Festival de la Luz, Singapore International Photography Festival, Kaunas Photo, Photovisa, Les Boutographies, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Hellerau Photography Award, Backlight, Brandts13, Galerie Alles Mögliche Berlin, Museo Histórico Buenos Aires, Fotomuseum Winterthur, among many others.
Mariya was selected for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass 2016. Her works have been published in Le Monde Magazine, New York Times International, Vision Magazine China, Foto Magazine Czech Republic, Emerge Magazine Germany, fotoMagazin Germany, SHOTS magazines, and others.