honorable mention
uschi Groos germany
title
1.7 cm
I traveled to Iceland, to places where the Drift becomes visible, and made installations there that accentuate this movement. These installations include demarcations of the breaking lines with white ribbon, in some cases literally bridging the cracks in the planet: this “bridge”, if left there for long enough, will eventually snap as the gap widens over time. These installations were documented in a series of photographs, alongside images that portray human life in these places. The point of my project, however, is not to emphasise our insignificance or induce hopelessness. The Continental Drift is beautiful; it is a precondition of the existence of life as we know it. And finally, changes can have positive effects. As Ernst Bloch said: “the important thing is learning to hope.”
Since the 1990s she conducts one of Germany’s leading companies for Kindergarden photography. She lives in Germany and on La Gomera, where she runs an artist residency.
Her work is often about the strategically planned staging and application of taboo perception services. - what is important to her is humorous reflection and observation. Crossing borders and thus a self-observation of society.
Her work has been exhibited in national and international galleries, solo show and also group exhibition.
Several publications in magazines worldwide.
back to gallery
entry description
The project I am currently working on is called 1.7 cm a year. The title refers to what is called the Continental Drift: the movement of the tectonic plates on our planet, which causes the continents to shift. This phenomenon is of poetic importance to me, because it shows that even the steady ground below our feet is not static, but subject to forces too vast for us to fathom. As I was working on this project, I felt how small humanity is in the face of these natural processes. It is part of the power of photography to make this largely invisible movement visible, and indeed the results can strike the viewer with unexpected force.I traveled to Iceland, to places where the Drift becomes visible, and made installations there that accentuate this movement. These installations include demarcations of the breaking lines with white ribbon, in some cases literally bridging the cracks in the planet: this “bridge”, if left there for long enough, will eventually snap as the gap widens over time. These installations were documented in a series of photographs, alongside images that portray human life in these places. The point of my project, however, is not to emphasise our insignificance or induce hopelessness. The Continental Drift is beautiful; it is a precondition of the existence of life as we know it. And finally, changes can have positive effects. As Ernst Bloch said: “the important thing is learning to hope.”
about the photographer
Bio Uschi Groos was born in Mittelhessen, Germany. After a commercial education she studied Photography.Since the 1990s she conducts one of Germany’s leading companies for Kindergarden photography. She lives in Germany and on La Gomera, where she runs an artist residency.
Her work is often about the strategically planned staging and application of taboo perception services. - what is important to her is humorous reflection and observation. Crossing borders and thus a self-observation of society.
Her work has been exhibited in national and international galleries, solo show and also group exhibition.
Several publications in magazines worldwide.
back to gallery