Fellows

Cross-Residencies Picture Berlin x ZK/U - PICTURE BERLIN

PICTURE BERLIN ( Germany )


Abigail Taubman (US)
My work engages with the nature of photography, and the essential
modes that allow the medium to function: production, reproduction,
circulation and consumption. Process focused work rematerializes the
photograph through film and darkroom based series of place­based
portraits, landscapes and landscapes as displaced portraits that
poetically engage with the social and the historical through extensive
research and (re)presenting of the archive. My photographs poetically
consider the subtleties of the human, topographic and unseen,
establishing a sense of place both past, present and future.

http://avt92945.wix.com/abigailtaubman


Alexandra Paydar (CH/US)
My work subverts the authentic and representative nature afforded to
the medium of photography by repurposing the power of the image.
Image­driven work reflects on the failure of language to hold our
feelings. Rather than using the medium as a representative tool, I
create images that trap my affective relation to the body. Through my
practice, I disrupt the modernist norm that insists that the body
functions as a representation of the self. In this conventional view, the
body is constricted to represent certain meanings and ways of being; it
becomes static and incapable of being anything other than known. This
narrow view of the body is complicated by the fact that I am a twin;
representational views have never adequately articulated my
relationship to my body or others. In my work, I reclaim and redefine
the body by producing images that articulate the emotional and
psychological complexity of the body. By manipulating bodily forms,
contexts, perspectives, and time I convey themes of twinning,
disconnect, othering, dissociation, and ambiguity. In doing this, I am
articulating the emotional weight of being in and of the body rather than
representing its physicality. By doing so, I invite my viewers to feel
what it is like to inhabit a body in all of its intensity and ambiguity,
freedom and imprisonment.

www.alexandrapaydar.com


Alyssa Miserendino (US)
"What does the language or logic of the irreconcilable look and sound
like? This is what I try to imagine in a physical sense. This is the
artwork I attempt to create and the space I attempt to occupy – a space
of paradox.
To be in a state of paradox means to rest in a space of self-
contradiction. It is an irrational place, where we believe in the possibility
of two conflicting ideas at the same time. This is not about existing as
an “either/or,” but rather about the existence of contradiction. Paradox
is what makes us human – we are evil, we are good. I’m interested in
propositions, such as this."

www.alyssamiserendino.com


Andrea Welton (US)
"My work consists of two modalities: my work in the studio and a
practice of direct engagement with the landscape. One activity
cultivates the other. Using these two types of practice I cultivate a
sense of place. My painting practice allows access to landscape because
my paintings function as a conduit even if not a direct representation.
This happens because each painting is derived from a specific endeavor.
One way my painting acts as a conduit is by creating illusionistic space
relating to the sublime and my application. The marks turn the painting
into an illusionistic landscape space. The square prioritizes painting as
an object and allows me to interrogate how a painting is made and how
it functions. Material difference manifests not just through mediums but
also corresponds to intensely different modes of application and the
space that difference creates. Drawing from labor­intensive art
histories, I invert them by transforming them. Influenced by Chinese
Landscape painting my work uses the abstraction of nature as an
escape from everyday life. An extension of myself, my paintings express
the adoration I have for the outdoors, relaying to the viewer both
physical landscape as well as the inner landscape of the artist."

www.andrea­welton.com


Bobby Smith (US)
"The objective of any good artist or maker should be to understand their
medium and process in it’s entirety in order to work around it’s
traditional conventions, both formally and conceptually in attempt to
successfully manipulate it in their favor. I am adopting the language and
imagery of blueprints and diagrams to depict my subconscious in a
structured yet fluid manner. Using some of the tools traditionally
associated with these forms of print, I am developing my own extensive
visual vocabulary in attempts to give the viewer insight to this
language. The objective of my process is to resonate on a more
primitive level. I am attempting breach the boundaries of conventional
language by unintentionally breaking down words, fragmenting
sentences and altering literary structure as a result of my dyslexia.
Through the reception of my pieces I hope to challenge the viewer to
relearn how to dissect images and text, breaking the conventions and
limitations surrounding the absorption of information."

www.bobby­-smith.com


Brooke Goldman (US)

"My work focuses on the issues of revisiting the past, reoccurring
mistakes, relationships, childhood/family, secrets, loss, and intimacies,
exploring my past and present relationship to each of these topics.
find myself frequently attempting to tie together related and non-
related events from the past to uncover the reasoning behind the things
that are occurring now; this process is evident in my work, as I am
constantly battling with myself, justifying, and re­working my concerns
into ways to transform my behaviors and grow as an adult. My constant
documentation of my concerns at different periods of my life, allows me
to make work that is raw, intimate, and relatable, and that is not solely
for myself, but is relevant to a wide range of audiences. Highlighting the
everyday has elevated the importance of subtle moments and has
revealed how they are all connected to a greater issue at hand.
work has evolved from simply documenting my relationship with my ex-
boyfriend to the story of my affliction of my overall identity in the
exploration of my relationships with my parents. I use appropriated
imagery, collected conversations, and objects to echo the nostalgic
nature of my work and to bring the viewer directly into the inner
workings of my thoughts and life, giving them a chance to join me on
my ongoing journey of self­exploration and realization.

Prior to watching my family home videos, I had little memory of my childhood and the happy moments my parents shared while married. Watching these videos has brought back these positive memories, although has produced an anxiety in myself. I have based part of my identity off my issues with my family, now realizing that I may have been victimizing myself unintentionally. These videos initially produced an immense guilt for not being grateful for my relatively ideal childhood and induced a very strange grieving process for the loss of my childhood self, the love my parents once had for each other, and the relationship I had with my father. Recently, this guilt has subsided due to my realization that these videos are a selective medium, in that they only show positive moments, creating a false sense of what really happened aside from these times. These videos have convinced me of many falsities, for example, causing me to believe I was present at times and in locations I was not. The stitching together of different videos allows me to further manipulate my memories and create different relationship dynamics I see in my family today, as well as insert myself in situations I had not attended."

brookegoldmanphoto.com


Cali Kurlan (US)
"My work continues to move towards the articulation of the experience
we have when we are confronted by seeing what would normally be
overlooked. Dealing with perception, my work investigates the way this
moment of recognition can pack a visceral response. There is an
inherent deconstruction in the process of image­making and whenever
an image is framed there is an articulation of a political idea. What can
be seen and revealed in the face of the photographic image? I sequester
into this question the promise of photography, but also the question of
perception through a poetic use of light and dark. Considering
photography as a system, the camera relies on a set of histories that
allow for this kind of recursive gesture. When applying the function of
the photograph to our current conditions we look to images of the world
through our electronic screens, with the expectation of a mediated
experience that in fact might reveal a more authentic aspect of life that
we have unlearned or are no longer able to see. The invitation for a
closer look results in a pleasure of the slow accumulation of the
structures that break down the limits of technology, claiming some
moments of representation as being more honest than others. I
acknowledge that the act of perception is a form of image­making that
abstracts different aspects of reality, peeling those layers apart and
putting them back together in a new choreographed understanding of
the world around us."

www.chairsinstallation.com


Caroline Goessling (US)
Caroline Goessling is a photographer and artist who is exploring the
intersection of art and journalism. She grew up in a rural town in
Missouri and has spent much of her time since traveling and befriending
strangers. Interested in experimental documentary, sound and video,
her work searches for common bonds among people and supports an 
exchange of knowledge and insight.

carolinegoessling.com


Courtney Asztalos (US)

Courtney’s practice is based in photography, video, sound and collage.
Her current work playfully focuses on exploring what Michael Foucault
deemed ‘heterotopic space’ such as malls, casinos, and tourist
attractions in that these spaces are defined through principles such as
“places with a culturally defined function that presuppose a system of
opening and closing... places linked to the accumulation of time, that
act as a slice of time and function at full capacity when people arrive at
a sort of absolute break with their traditional time”.

www.courtneyasztalos.com


Ng Hui Hsien (SG)
"My work references the philosophical implications of our exploration of
the universe – both inner and outer – and is a search for meaning and
the interconnectedness of all things. It explores the essence of the
physical world, while relating it to thoughts and emotions in our
subconscious that are not often brought to light. It seeks to discover,
create and reveal dreamscapes that reside alongside our everyday, in
order to expand the scope of our perception and awareness of the
unseen."

www.huihsien.com


Lili Peper (US)

"My work encapsulates concerns about the psychological unconscious,
identity, voyeurism and sexuality. These concepts derive from my
interest in surrealism and the cinema. In the form of large­format, color
photography my study of portraiture and the human experience is
visualized through the construction of narratives. By using site­specific
locations and placing characters within them, my compositions assemble
individual worlds that are subtle yet visceral. Although these works are
founded in my own conceptual intent and thus directed accordingly ­
they are meant to maintain a vail of ambiguity and uncertainty to
destabilize them from any one specific reading or interpretation.
Deriving inspiration from Freud's concepts of the uncanny, the scenes
are familiar yet alien, interpretable but foreign. By reorienting object
associations and inserting both symbolic and literal renderings of the
human form, I work with (and subsequently disrupt) traditional notions
of identity, domesticity and intimacy. The work exposes and
deconstructs ideas of private/public space, allowing the roles of voyeur
and performer to move fluidly within the image's imagined reality and
further, between that world and the active world of the spectator.
I plan to create new works within this cinematic framework, but utilizing
the new environments I will be exposed to in Berlin. Having never been
to Berlin before, I want to benefit from this unmarked subjectivity. It is
imperative to my practice that the constructed element of the work
remain balanced with the juxtaposition of spontaneity and fluidity ­
consuming the affect of the world around me."

www.lilipeper.com


Megan Gorham (US)
"When exploring a city’s edges and centers, I look for the small everyday
moments that give insight into the greater changes affecting the
landscape. I’m attracted to the instability of these spaces. Seeking
evidence of the constant flux and change in our surroundings, my
photographs attempt to sort and coalesce this loose drifting material of
life."

http://megangorham.com


Sarah Moore (US)
"In my practice, photography is about exploring, deconstructing, and
reconstructing, but it is mostly about seeing. At an early age, I was
fascinated with seeing. My eyesight was horrible when I was quite
young, which put me in glasses and then later, contacts. When I first
acquired glasses, I would play with them to blur my vision or I would try
and stare out the sides to see my abstract periphery.
My obsession with seeing was also heightened because growing up, I
saw things happen to my family that I should not have seen, and I saw
darkness in the world that I couldn’t un­see. I became obsessed with
this darkness and how I could transform it or revel in it. It was from this
place that I learned to control my gaze, reconstruct my memories of the
world around me, and truly focus on the act of looking.
My current work deals with the complexities of memory and vision. I
utilize the mise­en­scène of daily life to create abstracted photographs
and mesmerizing videos, weaving together nonlinear stories that have a
psychological impact. I encourage my viewers to question how our
vision influences not only what we remember, but also how we
remember."

www.sarahkatherinemoore.com


Siying Zhou (AUS)
"As a migrant who was born in China and living and working in Australia,
I use my art to measure and contemplate my social, cultural and
political position in this country. My interest lies with social and culture
issues; the meaning of multiculturalism, nomadic religious practice and
cultural traditions, the identity of individuals within the culture of
globalization, the intricate relationship between land and its dwellers
and the correlation of physical and imaginary spaces.
Taking an interdisciplinary approach, I explore these subjects through
visual presentation generated by multiple medium forms. I use video,
sculpture, photography, performance and drawing in the aim to create a
unique narrative through language and aesthetics. A tension is drawn
from the juxtaposition of the physical positioning of the work and the
discursive relationship of each medium."

www.siyingzhou.com