Duet, Visual Haikus

Ada Slaight Gallery

As part of the "Narrative Practice" course, students from Master photography program developed a collection of haikus illustrated with their own photographs. Haikus come from the traditional Japanese art of poetry and are now widespread all over the world. Their short form represents both complexity and attraction. Under the direction of Professor Walter Bergmoser, the students brought various forms of expression into play, developed them, and emphasized how aesthetic considerations can be linked with philosophy. The students incorporated their personal experiences from many different backgrounds and cultures into their work.

Photography student Ludmiła Szulińska thought about a natural need for intimacy and expressed this in her work "The Epidemic of 21st Century Solitude". Sidharth Sircar opened up a dialogue with himself in order to absorb worries and emptiness. Master student Tom Kaiser was fascinated by the juxtaposition of eternity and moment, while Kinwah Lok developed his visual language by questioning things he always believed in. Yozy Zhang Garvey experienced a major transformation in 2018 and found her way to deal with fear, desire and the burden of thought in her subconscious. Lourenço Guedes de Carvalho's approach was very minimalist, geometric and poetic, reflecting the simplicity of the haiku chosen by him. Lastly, Phuong Hoang took a walk through the realm of love, uncertainty and confusion with her abstract imagery.

In conjunction with the current faculty exchange between the Photography programs at UE Berlin and OCAD (Ontario College of Art & Design) University in Toronto, Canada, two exhibitions offer students at each institution the opportunity to show their works internationally.