“Playground” is an experimental analog photography series that explores playgrounds as places of imagination. The work was created for a solo exhibition at the 1822-Forum of the Frankfurter Sparkasse in January 2025. The series consists of 36 analogue black-and-white prints in five different formats. Accompanying the exhibition was the photobook “Playground”, concept and layout by Gerrit Jäger, with texts by Luisa Ditter.
At the core of the work lies analog photography, which marks both the beginning and the end of the technical process. Analog black and white images of playgrounds at night were manipulated using traditional techniques such as double exposures or solarisation, or digitally through AI and retouching. In addition, six photographs were digitally altered by young people from the Kinderkulturtreff Eschersheim according to their own ideas. As a final step, I transferred all manipulated motifs back into the analog and produced them on photographic paper in the darkroom.
This experimental process depicts the playground as an uncanny and bizarre place, where the laws of physics seem suspended, ghostly figures appear, and the creative energies of the children by day are unleashed at night.
This experimental process depicts the playground as an uncanny and bizarre place, where the laws of physics seem suspended, ghostly figures appear, and the creative energies of the children by day are unleashed at night.
In the spirit of play, both the experimental process itself and the search for traces of reality when viewing the prints are essential elements of the work. The exhibition also placed an emphasis on the materiality of the photographic paper, as I presented the prints unframed on the walls, allowing the paper to lift slightly from the wall and form waves in certain places. The "truth claim" of analog photography is questioned by the many layers of manipulation. By keeping some motifs unmanipulated, doubts about the authenticity of the whole series are sown while viewing the images.
Installation View 1822-Forum Frankfurt @ Lena Bils 2025
Installation View 1822-Forum Frankfurt @ Lena Bils 2025
Installation View 1822-Forum Frankfurt @ Lena Bils 2025
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 60x75cm
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 60x75cm
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 24x30,5cm
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 17,8x24 cm
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 60x75cm
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 30x40cm
Ausstellungsansicht, Abzug auf Fotopapier Fomaspeed Multigrade Velvet, 24x30,5cm
