Christina Glanz
"On the tree-covered cliff"

Exhibition: 18 June – 4 September 2016

A common saying in Sweden has it that a man from Småland would survive, even if left alone on a cliff in the sea. The county of Småland upheaves itself considerably, compared to the surrounding Swedish counties. It has a rougher climate and, in many places, rather poor soils. This clearly has kindled the creative abilities of its people, but also has led to a large emigration. Covered with woods in which mysterious creatures are said to dwell, Småland makes the appearance of a large forest-covered cliff, that perpetually challenges its inhabitants. During several visits this year I have begun to explore visual aspects of the life there, and tried to encode them by photographic means.

Christina Glanz photographs go "against the grain"-such as the feelings of protestors at stateimposed events. After the reunification of Germany, she documented specific aspects of the abolition of the steel- and coal industries at the Niederlausitz, specifically Lauchhammer in a long-term project. During this time she discovered color-photography for herself.

Her photographs invite the viewer to take a second glance at portraits and at objects created by humans, which evokes an empathic understanding. She was recently invited to photographically interpret life in the Swedish province of Småland. The result is the exhibition "On the wooded cliff" (2015), which explored the irrational, folkloristic context, that embeds the local, export-oriented industry.

Christina Glanz was born in 1946 in Eichsfeld and spent her early childhood in this rural area. When she was 11 years old she moved with her parents to the outskirts of Berlin and experienced the exciting cultural life of Berlin Mitte. After she graduated from highschool she started studying architecture in Dresden and later in Berlin-Weissensee. She then started working at the state department for urban design, where she was concerned with the development of the district Marzan, among other things. She stopped this work in favor of a research assistantship in architecture and photography at the Kunsthochschule Weissensee. She was accepted at the Association of Visual Artists (Verband Bildender Künstler) of the GDR and is working as a freelancing photographer since.

More information: www.christinaglanz.de