timescapes: December 2009

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Photographers to know / Link 15 : Mona Breede

© Mona Breede / Look-Out, 2007.

I was seduced by the light play in her so called 'choreographic' approach of the city and industrial sites. She shows various series of photographs which examine the interaction between people and their man-made environment. Individuals or groups of people are set against the neutral shapes of modernist functional architecture. The artist does not ask people to pose for her, but she frequently manages to catch the decisive moment when their actions or gestures are particulary striking. In fact, when looking at these vivid pictures, the viewer is often reminded of choreographies or dancers on a stage. Mona Breede´s series usually comprise three or four pictures taken in rapid succession and invite us to explore the subtile changes occurring from one moment to the next. On the one hand, we may establish narritive links between the different situations captured in these images; on the other hand, Mona Breede´s poetic photographs also sharpen our perception of variations in form. Have a look at her website. Mona Breede was born in 1968, studied photography with Thomas Struth, and now lives and works in Karlsruhe, Germany.