The exhibition shows works created as part of the cultural exchange between the twin cities of Osaka and Hamburg. The two exhibiting artists have often traveled to Osaka and Japan and have also had artists from Osaka as guests in Hamburg. The exhibited works were created in connection with this cultural exchange.
©Thomas Schlottmann
Thomas Schlottmann is a documentary filmmaker and multimedia artist. In Japan, he worked as cinematographer for several documentaries for NHK and for the production of corporate videos. He´s also active as curator and cultural manager. As head of the none-profit arts organization Hamburghaus.org and member of artspace Frise he´s organizing cultural exchange and collaboration programs worldwide.
In the exhibition at Osaka City Hall Thomas Schlottmann presents the series "Romanticism" shows photographic works from Japan that depict a longing view of urban and natural landscapes. The paintings and subjects of the German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich form the leitmotif for the series "Romanticism" by Thomas Schlottmann. With a double gaze, the reflexivity in the image we look at urban seas of houses and seemingly endless natural landscapes. The everyday life with its worries and fears is just as close as the transcendent view into a promising future.
©Fabian Hammerl
Fabian Hammerl is a Hamburg based artist/photographer. In his works he is investigating urban surroundings worldwide, with a strong focus on their emotive features, creating photographic narratives between documentary and fiction.
While his artistic practice is based mainly on photography and sometimes video works, Fabian Hammerl frequently expands this practice in collaborative projects with fellow photographers, writers, musicians or graphic artists.
Fabian Hammerl is active in cultural exchange, mainly between Germany and Japan, and was invited to residencies in China and Japan. His work is exhibited in solo and group shows in Europe, Japan, China and the US. He has self-published several artist books and zines.
The photographs shown in the Osaka City Hall are part of the long-term series ‚Things As They‘. For this series Fabian Hammerl sets himself adrift in urban and suburban environments, purposely losing direction and awareness of the signals that are set to guide us in everyday life. The photographs taken during those long and aimless strolls are sensual recordings of his own emotional state, connecting with the spirit of former and actual inhabitants lingering on.
Fabian Hammerl’s photographs depict the universal character of urban density, the open fringes of planned development, and the conflicting interests involved in the constitution of space. By paying attention to the emotive features that are embedded in every structure, the photographs make the interrelation between the actual geographical environment and the emotional sphere created by human individuality visible.
While being very accurate in their description of spatial situations, Fabian Hammerl’s photographs never deny the elusive character of their creation, reflecting the transitory nature of urban space.
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