Bettina Lockemann

From the Periphery

 

In her work From the periphery Bettina Lockemann investigates the effects of German suburban development since the 1930’s, and a city’s transformation to car compatibility exemplified by Braunschweig. A fragmented mode of perception supported by vertical-formated photography, her regard is one from the sidewalk on urban public space.

The pictures allow for an insight into an urban situation which is standard in many cities in the Federal Republic: the streets seem way too wide and bear witness to the prioritization of automobile traffic. People appear merely as shadowy figures riding in cars; city spaces other than downtown areas offer little room to pedestrians and cyclists. Residential structures seem closed-up and uninviting; they are flanked by garages and parked vehicles which often block sidewalks and vistas.

A very few horizontal formats open up an additional perspective: that of the motorist. Here, suddenly, the viewers find themselves in the middle of the street; the city pushes into the field of vision only peripherally; the blacktop ahead and other vehicles dominate the pictorial centers.

From the periphery is a conceptual regard on urban space. The sequence of pictures escorts the viewer along the city’s main drags which enclose the historic downtown and channel traffic streams to and fro. From the periphery guides the viewer through a (sub-)urban scene that, in the course of post-war developments, occupied sections of downtown as well; therefore the term “Periphery” not only stands for a geographical localization.

 

Bettina Lockemann’s project is part of the group exhibition Dalla via Emilia al mondo,  curated by Diane Dufour, Elio Grazioli and Walter Guadagnini.

Dalla via Emilia al mondo

The theme of Fotografia Europea 2016 opens to the world in the venue of Palazzo da Mosto with the collective exhibition Dalla via Emilia al mondo (From the via Emilia to the World).

Room after room, the work ranges from high quality photojournalism to the most creative approach introducing topical themes, from a lyrical gaze to a more engaged position. The artists tackle the dramatic aspect of borders, those which are marked and those less visible but still evident. Here, the social, political, and human themes take precedence, recounted primarily by non-Italian artists: Ziad Antar, Paola De Pietri, Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djumaliev, Kent Klich, Bettina Lockemann, Maanantai Collective, Michael Najjar, Paolo Pellegrin, Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber.

BIO

Bettina Lockemann (Berlin, Germany, 1971) is an artist and theoretician in the field of photography. She studied fine art photography and media art in Leipzig and completed her PhD in art history at Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design. She held teaching positions at various art schools. From 2010 to 2015 she was Professor of Photography (practice and theory) at Braunschweig University of Art in Germany.

Major exhibitions include: From the Periphery, gallery of Braunschweig University of Art (2013); Contact Zones, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart (2010), Trade. Commodities, Communication, and Consciousness in World Trade Today, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland/Nederlands Foto Instituut, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2001/2002), and Positions, Attitudes, Actions, International Photography-Biennial Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2000). She has published a number of photobooks as well as numerous essays on photography. Most recent publications: État d’Urgence, Leipzig: Spector, 2016; From the Periphery, Salzburg: FOTOHOF edition, 2013; “Beyond the Decisive Moment: Temporality in Paul Graham’s ‘A Shimmer of Possibility’”, in: Brianne Cohen/Alexander Streitberger (eds.): Image [&] Narrative, Vol 16, No. 3 (2015), 17-30.

EVENTS

 

8 May 10.30 am, Teatro Cavallerizza

LECTURE: From the via Emilia to the World

Diane Dufour, Elio Grazioli e Walter Guadagnini talks with the artists Ziad Antar, Maanantai Collective, Paola De Pietri, Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djumaliev, Kent Klich, Michael Najjar, Paolo Pellegrin, Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber

 

18 June 5 pm, Chiostri di San Pietro

Bettina Lockemann talks with Walter Guadagnini
guided tour to Palazzo da Mosto exhibitions to follow, 6.30 pm

EXHIBITION VENUE

Palazzo da Mosto
via Mari, 7
42121 Reggio Emilia

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OPENING HOURS

inaugural days
May 6 › 7am-11pm
May 7 and 8 › 10am-11pm
from May 9 to July 10 Friday/Sunday
Friday › 6pm-11pm
Saturday › 10am-11pm
Sunday and holiday › 10am-8pm

Category
Palazzo da Mosto