Anna Linderstam:

The Unheard Contradictions

Anna Linderstam creates silent dramas. In constructed environments performative action is condensed into emotionally charged scenarios within photography and video. The work aims to capture the elusive process of "becoming" whilst simultaneously highlighting the subject's act of "giving oneself over" to the photographic gaze.

Taking the body as a responsive form, Linderstam sets up manipulating circumstances, in which a metamorphosis takes place. In the works exhibited, hypnosis, blindness and physical exertion have been used to disrupt the subject’s reference to common habits and emotional patterns. The situation is seemingly empty and without a past. A new reference emerges with the gaze, a totalizing aperture as an infinite horizon. The body transcends what it is, becoming what it is not.

All the works maintain an ambiguity between the constructed situation and the authentic physical state of the subject. The works document the conditions explored and by controlling the visual elements Linderstam imposes her own aesthetic. She uses large format camera and analogue printing techniques to create highly detailed and precise photographs. The large scale is significant, as it demands that the viewer relate to the subjects depicted.