Sylvia Ballhause Shootings
Shooting himself 2008, 32 x 42 cm each, digital c-prints
Shooting himself After having placed an announcement in a small news paper, I received a private archive of 29 original polaroid photographs which were taken from the same man over a period of 24 years (1982 2006) at a fun fair-shooting booth. The work»shooting himself«emerged from this collection. I selected the photographs based on the repeated wearing of the same outfit and a deserted background. The fascination of the recurrent gesture of shooting and the repetitive identical facial expression lead to portraitlike cut-outs. The installation arrangement includes blank spaces which suggest it being an extract of a bigger range. year: 2008 work of up to 10 images image size: 32 x 42 cm (12.6 x 16.54 inches) each material: digital c-prints presentation: wooden shadow gap frames without glass
Shooting myself 2008, 122 x 102 cm, c-print
Shooting myself This work is an investigation of photographs from fun fair shooting booths and the result of purchasing a shooting rig. In a non-specific room with discarded furniture of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s a woman aims at a (maybe also discarded) shooting rig. On the one hand, the image discloses the secret of how a shooting rig looks. On the other hand, the image mystifies both the scenery and the artist who is shooting herself. In this work the act of shooting is more essential than the image shot by the camera above the target. year: 2008 image size: 123,7 x 104,8 cm (48.03 x 40.16 inches) material: c-print presentation: wooden box-section frame with glass
Two shoots by Ernst-Friedrich Krieger 2010, 50 x 66 cm each, inkjet-print on fine-art paper
Two shoots by Ernst-Friedrich Krieger These two images are developed from the private archive of german Ernst-Friedrich Krieger. here, the concentration here is not primarely focused on the shooter nor his shot, but also on the inter action with the woman beside him. The shot is, therefore, not the decisive moment. year: 2010 image size unframed: 50 x 66 cm (19.7 x 26 inch) material: inkjet-print on fine-art paper presentation: wooden object frame with glass
Shooting rig [passive] / Shooting rig [active] 2009, 72 x 92 cm each, digital c-prints
Shooting rig [passive] / Shooting rig [active] The shooting rig is installed in the studio; the rifle is fixed on a tripod. The camera focuses the gun and this in turn is pointing at the target, which is connected with the camera. The active moment is a hit and the reverse-shot by the camera. The cameraflash follows the bullet. The film is exposed the scene appears in a red dark room-like light. year: 2009 work of two images material: digital c-print image size framed: 72 x 92 cm (28.4 x 36.2 inches) presentation: wooden shadow gap frames without glass
Shooting rig [installation] Shortly after I heard, that the owner of the shootingrig-carriage gave up her business because of financial reasons, I decided to buy one of seven ranges and to work with it. Sometimes I install the shooting rig in an exhibition space where people can shoot. year of purchase: 2007 material: mixed-media
Projektraum Holden, 2009, Darmstadt (Germany) installation views
Shoot collection Over the course of time I have collected original photos from various photo booths. Exhibited at small off-spaces this collection could be extended by images brought from visitors. The presentation in a salon style hanging enforces the character of a private collection. year: since 2006 material: c-prints, polaroids, silvergelatine-prints
Strümpfe The Supper Art Club Mannheim (Germany), 2011, installation views
»Shoot! Fotografie existentiell«c/o Berlin, 2011, installation view
Exhibitions of»shootings«solo exhibitions 2008 Gallery Helmut Hartmann, Wien, Austria 2009 Projektraum Holden, Darmstadt, Germany 2011 Strümpfe The Supper Art Club Mannheim, Germany Group exhibitions 2010 Les Rencontres d Arles, France 2010 Photomuseum Braunschweig, Germany C / O Berlin, Germany 2012 IMAGES Festival des Arts visuels de Vevey, Switzerland The Photographer s Gallery, London, UK
Biographical information Sylvia Ballhause was born in 1977 in Halle (Saale), Germany. After an apprenticeship as graphic-designer she graduated in communications design with a focus on photography in Darmstadt, Germany, in 2002. From 2007 to 2011 she studied at the»hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst«the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig, Germany, with Christopher Muller and Beate Gütschow (class of artistic photography). Sylvia Ballhause has taken part in several group exhibitions and international photofestivals. Contact post: Sylvia Ballhause Christianstr. 11 04105 Leipzig Germany studio: Lützener Str. 29 04229 Leipzig Germany mobile: ++49. 179. 6781471 email: info@sylviaballhause.de web: www.sylviaballhause.de All images: Sylvia Ballhause