Background of the Background

Background of the Background is a collaboration between Matthew Cowan and Jana Müller. The starting point for the artistic research is painted backgrounds that were in use in photographic studios in the 19th century. These staged backgrounds are documents of their time and contain important metadata on how images were created and which interpretations are thus inscribed. What do these backdrops mean from today‘s cultural perspective with a renewed understanding of how we present ourselves on Zoom, Instagram and other forms of image-based social media?

From an artistic perspective, the project seeks to uncover narratives that emerge in archive materials. In addition to dealing with these materials as photographic artefacts, a new series of works using analogue and digital photographic material is being constructed.

With thanks to the following institutions who have assisted with the research: Isel Park Research Facility, Nelson Provincial Museum Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao, Aotearoa, New Zealand; Te Papa Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Aotearoa, New Zealand; Willow Bank Heritage Village, Wakefield, Aotearoa, New Zealand; LWL Freilichtmuseum, Detmold, Germany.

The following images are from the research project and exhibition installations at Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin, 2023.

[image credits: Matthew Cowan, Jana Müller; Amelie Losier]