Katharina Sieverding ENCODE V 2006

Born in Prague in 1944, Katharina Sieverding has made a major contribution to opening up the concept of art and to interdisciplinary medial practice. Since the 1960s she has been working both in film and photography, using extremely large formats to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct her own
portrait, gaining international acclaim by asking challenging questions of the politics of representation, gender and Post colonialism.

Her work has frequently triggered debates on contemporary society, politics, social and cultural issues, one example being her poster installation »Die Pleite« during her exhibition CLOSE UP at the KW Berlin in 2005. Katharina Sieverding firmly believes that a responsible contemporary artistic practice must be politically committed, and that artistic practice has the task to develop complex positions that not only represent the accelerated processes of the present, but also critically reflect upon them.

GALERIE CHRISTIAN LETHERT will show recent photographs by Katharina Sieverding under the title ENCODE V 2006. The exhibition consists of 15 photographs with the dimensions of 125 x 190 cm and 190 x 125 cm and of two with the dimensions 275 x 375 cm. The source material for the new pictorial constructions derives from a rich pool of photographic documentaries glimpses and examinations. It has been taken during the years 2004-2006, consistently using the same camera and films. ENCODE V 2006 is a critical, context-based technique addressing major cultural issues in a visual way. Each picture creates space and place for thoughts about representation/interpretation, fact/fiction, masking/demasking, in the art world, culture and production of photographic art.