Patrik Elgström
28 Aug - 20 Sep 2015
PATRIK ELGSTRÖM
obstacle
28 August – 20 September 2015
Patrik Elgström is a photographer who finds his motifs during walks in his immediate environment, which he investigates with the camera and maps out subjectively. The starting point for his recent work is a focus on “things in the way”, which block the view: instead of classic motifs like landscape views, Elgström photographs architectural structures made from massive materials such as stone or concrete or rather, details of them. The shots are empty of human beings; the spaces in the pictures appear self-contained and do not open up to either the outside or the inside.
For his current project obstacle in Berlin, his walks led him through the city’s historical power centre, to places that now represent a different, a past Berlin. The structures of architecture and the materials they consist of represent different layers of time and historical epochs. Elgström’s neutral standpoint in respect to these places facilitates the intuitive working method he prefers to use. Hands-on work is an important factor for the artist: he always uses an analogue camera, develops the films himself, and also produces the prints.
In Künstlerhaus Bethanien Elgström is presenting the photo series obstacle in a very purist manner, as prints on aluminium dispensing with glass and framing.Patrik Elgström is a grantee of the International Artists’ Studio Programme in Sweden (IASPIS).
obstacle
28 August – 20 September 2015
Patrik Elgström is a photographer who finds his motifs during walks in his immediate environment, which he investigates with the camera and maps out subjectively. The starting point for his recent work is a focus on “things in the way”, which block the view: instead of classic motifs like landscape views, Elgström photographs architectural structures made from massive materials such as stone or concrete or rather, details of them. The shots are empty of human beings; the spaces in the pictures appear self-contained and do not open up to either the outside or the inside.
For his current project obstacle in Berlin, his walks led him through the city’s historical power centre, to places that now represent a different, a past Berlin. The structures of architecture and the materials they consist of represent different layers of time and historical epochs. Elgström’s neutral standpoint in respect to these places facilitates the intuitive working method he prefers to use. Hands-on work is an important factor for the artist: he always uses an analogue camera, develops the films himself, and also produces the prints.
In Künstlerhaus Bethanien Elgström is presenting the photo series obstacle in a very purist manner, as prints on aluminium dispensing with glass and framing.Patrik Elgström is a grantee of the International Artists’ Studio Programme in Sweden (IASPIS).