Rainer Strzolka

Seniors Residence Rainer Strzolka

The pictures shown here were taken in a senior citizens residence in Lower Saxony. Thanks to the Kono Rotwild 2 film material, they appear as if they were taken directly from the purgatory. The pictures were shown for the first time in September 2020 at Hof Carlsen, Insel Föhr as an analog installation for exactly one day. The exhibition catalog presented here consolidates this installation. Film material: Kono Rotwild 2Camera: Voigtländer Bessa RLens: Voigtländer Ultra wide Heliar 12mmPlease visit us on the internet: www.galerie-fuer-kulturkommunikation.comRainer Strzolka (° 1956, Berlin, Germany) makes photos, performances, media art and installations. Using a poetic and often metaphorical language, Strzolka seeks to increase the astonishment of the viewer by creating compositions or settings that create calm poetic images that leave traces and equilibria on the verge of recognition and alienation. His photos question the obsession that arises from the deeper meaning and superficial aesthetic appearance of an image. By parodying mass media by conveying certain formal aspects of our contemporary society, he creates works that can be viewed as self-portraits. His works appear as dreamlike images in which fiction and reality meet, known tropes merge, meanings change, past and present merge. Time and memory always play a key role. By emphasizing the aesthetics, he seduces the viewer into a world of constant equilibrium and interval that articulates the flow of daily events. Moments are shown that only exist to underline the human drama, to clarify our existence and to find a poetic meaning in everyday life. His works sometimes exude a cold and latent violence. Sometimes unsettling beauty emerges. The inherent visual seduction and the short-term presence of his exhibitions further complicate the reception of their various levels of meaning. Rainer Strzolka currently lives and works in Leipzig.