4th Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg Fotofestival

THE EYE IS A LONELY HUNTER: IMAGES OF HUMANKIND
September 10 - November 6, 2011

The 4th biannual Mannheim_Ludwigshafen_Heidelberg Fotofestival focuses on the role of photography as it bears witness to the human condition at the dawn of the second decade of the 21st century.

The festival aims to present a multifaceted portrait of humanity in all the diversity of our time. It takes as its point of departure a humanist perspective in the tradition of documentary photography. It showcases a variety of practices that are situated at the intersection between documentary and artistic photography, practices that are characterised by a strong sense of visuality but also a keen sense of sociopolitical awareness.

Exhibitions

Heidelberger Kunstverein, Hauptstrasse 97, 69117 Heidelberg

Life Cycles
A life cycle represents an existential curve including being born and passing away, the trajectory of an individual existence. The photographs in Life Cycles capture and cut through the existential moments of biographical importance that impact upon and eventually constitute our subjective experience of the world and the deeper bliss or painful hardship of life. This exhibition venue therefore showcases the classical symbolic manifestations of the movement of life from one state to another – the so-called ‘rites of passage’ – such as wedding ceremonies or burial practices but it also provides insight into the different conditions that human beings are subjected to in their various life stages, and explores how these appear as photographic testimonies: from the amateur family album, and the still life photograph to the carefully staged allusive portrait.

halle02/ Kunsthalle, Güteramtstrasse 2, 69115 Heidelberg

Solo Show Tobias Zielony
German photographer and artist Tobias Zielony has been invited to make a solo presentation at the newly renovated Kunshalle Heidelberg, halle02. For over a decade Zielony has observed and documented the nocturnal life of suburban Germany, Poland, Canada, USA, France and Italy. His images depict youths hanging out and posing in petrol stations, car parks and deserted social housing estates.

Sammlung Prinzhorn / Prinzhorn Collection, Vossstrasse 2, 69115 Heidelberg

Solo Show Roger Ballen
Roger Ballen’s point of departure is sociological and anthropological, with a focus on the disenfranchised, the marginalised and the peripheral. His subjects are staged in gloomy and shabby domestic settings, resulting in powerful, disturbing and alienating pictures, which transcend voyeurism and venture into the territory of the affective.

Kunsthalle Mannheim, Friedrichsplatz 4, 68165 Mannheim

Role and Ritual
This exhibition presents documentations of rituals focusing on their appearance and the social roles and codes manifested therein. Here, also the role of the artist as researcher – as the ‘lonely hunter’ for specific situations and images – is reflected as regards the cultures and peoples observed.

ZEPHYR of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, C4, 9b, 68159 Mannheim

The Affect and Effect of Politics
The Affect and Effect of Politics explores the real, tangible effects of politics on human beings and how these are imprinted on the physical environment: on landscapes, buildings, and social spaces; but also how they impact humans psychologically. The exhibition focuses on the legacy of colonialisms and empire, current political upheavals and their repercussions, the politico-economic entanglements of the West beyond its own borders, and the new realities of the emerging economic super-powers in developing countries.

Alter Messplatz, Brückenstrasse, 68167 Mannheim

Public Outdoor Project By Beat Streuli
The photographic installation on the Alter Messplatz is a site-specific artwork that the Swiss artist Beat Streuli developed especially for the city of Mannheim in cooperation with the 4th edition of the Fotofestival Mannheim_Ludwigshafen_Heidelberg. Streuli worked on-location in Mannheim, taking photographs in the city and in particular at Alter Messplatz itself during the month of July.

Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Berliner Strasse 23, 67059 Ludwigshafen

Ecological Circuits
Ecological Circuits explores the changing relationship of man to the natural environment, a relationship that has been constantly shifting and has become increasingly critical during our times.

Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Bismarckstrasse 44-48, 67059 Ludwigshafen

The PractICe of Everyday Life
A photographic investigation into the organisation, performance and ‘personalising’ of everyday life.

More information: www.fotofestival.info/en/festival/