Natascha preparing one wall of ‘Bloody Suns’ for the Blood series, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, 2010
The ambivalence between the personal, historical and imaginary is what distinguishes Stellmach’s work. Julia G. Schneider, Von Hundert, 2007
Installation view (detail), Blood series, Wagner+Partner, Berlin, 2010
This photographic series and installation narrates a story of displacement, migration and Zerrissenheit (being torn) from the 1940s to the 2000s, set between Germany and Australia. Informed by the prosaic form of the family saga – war, betrayal, murder and reconciliation – BLOOD is inspired by unspoken aspects of Stellmach’s family history.
Each of the 11 works are first created as works on paper with antique paper, albums, a typewriter and photographs that were either found or photographed by the artist. These are then cut, burnt or meticulously manipulated. Following this, a scanner (both a ghostly and interrogative light source), gleans the collage to create a singular photo work. These intense narrative collages illustrate the blurring of memory, fact and fiction that is often associated with repression. Their effect is to invite us to investigate the relationship to our own Geschichte (history + story).
The series begins with a super-imposed self-portrait of the artist, reminding us of the power we have to address our histories. As an installation, Stellmach’s black humour cuts through the intensity, situating the works on walls with ‘Bloody Suns’ made from Christmas baubles filled with fake blood. The series first appeared in an earlier form in the artist book, The Book of Back.
Blood No. 1 (self portrait), 2013, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 2, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 3, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 4, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
In Stellmach’s multifaceted, bold and provocative works she confronts the viewer with complex narratives in which she intertwines the personal with public, reality with fiction, and truth with dream. Barbara Auer, Director Kunstverein Ludwigshafen
Blood No. 5, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 6, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 7, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 8, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 9, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 10, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 11, 2006–09, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Blood No. 12, 2018, archival pigment print on photo rag, Ed 5, 42 x 59 cm
Installation view (detail): Blood series as part of Stellmach’s solo exhibition, Come Live in My Head, Wagner+Partner Berlin, 2010
Installation view (detail), Blood, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, 2010
Installation view (detail): The Book of Back, mixed media, artist book, Fotogalerie Wien, Austria, 2010
Installation view (detail), Blood, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, 2010
INSTALLATION VIEWS
Wagner + Partner Berlin | Fotogalerie Wien Austria
SELECTED TEXTS
Neues Deutschland | Verletzung und Verdrängung – Review by Robert Meyer
Claudia Marion Stemberger | Identität I: Biografie | Fotogalerie Wien (Deutsch) & English
Celina Lunsford | It is Black in Here: Contre-Jour (English)
& Gegenlicht (Deutsch)
Amy Barrett-Lennard | It is Black in Here Foreword (English) & Vorwort (Deutsch)
von hundert | Nazi Girl im Kinderzimmer – Review by Julia G. Schneider (Deutsch)
Astrid Mania | Mise en Abyme, Natascha Stellmachs poetische Brechungen (Deutsch) & English
NATASCHA STELLMACH 