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 Kumari & Anapayini, Alachua, FL. 2006 |
 STATEMENT In my project "Constructing the Exotic," I look at the ideas and structures of exoticism by photographing the theatrical reality of Eastern-raised women in the West and the unique relationship they create with the Western landscape and conventions of exoticism within the history of painting. In continuing my practice, I am interested in looking further into the political structures inherent within historical works. Beyond the beauty of the Dutch Still-life lays the evidence of Dutch colonial power: its imports of exotic spices and goods from India. You can currently purchase any of these Indian imports, plus anything else you can find in the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, or Chennai, in the "Little India" sections of various major cities of the world. This new project "Little Indian Still-lifes" will feature a mixture of contemporary and traditional items purchased in these "Little Indias," including Bollywood videos; Indian fruits, vegetables and flowers; cloth; lamps; betel nuts; magazines; posters; books; jewelry; and cooking utensils, among other items. The photographs will reference the lighting, compositions, and scale of the Dutch still-life tradition in order to create an aesthetic experience of near recognition while still allowing disorienting puncture points to come through. Although visually similar to the Dutch still-life, these pictures do not evidence Western colonial power but rather a reverse of power, of India settling the West. / VIEW ADDITIONAL IMAGES FROM CONSTRUCTING THE EXOTIC / BIOGRAPHY Michael Bühler-Rose, born in New Jersey (1980), lives and works in New York. He received a Fulbright Fellowship to India, obtained his BFA (2005) from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and MFA (2008) from University of Florida. He is currently a Critic at the Rhode Island School of Design. Michael has exhibited work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi; Bose Pacia, New York; Brancolini Grimaldi, Florence/Rome at Art Verona and Paris Photo; as well as with SK Stiftung Kultur/Die Photographische Sammlung at Art Cologne. His projects have been reviewed in The New York Times, Time Out New York, AM NY, Black Book, The Times of India and Rhizome.org and featured in Camera Austria, PDN (Photo District News), and American Photo on Campus. His work is held in the Sammlung Goetz, Munich, and in the Die Photographische Sammlung, Cologne. michaelbuhlerrose.com |
 Maggie in the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Normandie, France, November, 2007. |
 STATEMENT My work explores the strange, quirky and mysterious constructions of everyday life. This exploration is expanded in a recent project by a fictional character named Maggie who comes from another time and place, presumably the past. In the photographs, Maggie is played by a real person wearing an old paper mask from the 1930's. The cinematic qualities of the project are highlighted by the fictional scenarios depicted in seemingly ordinary real life settings. Maggie has a life of her own as well as a unique style and personality. Maggie travels around the modern world, but is attracted to sites with a slippery sense of time. Like the typical tourist, Maggie poses in front of objects and environments that suit her temperament, befriends the local people and visits iconic historical sites. Although she actually blends in with her photographic surroundings, her mysterious features and outdated style make her stand out like a sore thumb. This displacement of time and place within the context of tourism helps to portray Maggie as an outsider. In one sense, her will to travel is her attempt to connect with other people in the world. At the same time the photographs reflect on the strange habits of tourists and their pervasiveness around the world. BIOGRAPHY Ofer Wolberger lives and works in New York City. In 2001 he received his MFA in Photography from The School of Visual Arts. In 2003 his work was exhibited in Inside Out at the Paul Morris Gallery in NYC. During the spring/summer of 2003 he participated in the AIM program at The Bronx Museum of the Arts. The program led to a group exhibition as well as a catalogue. In 2004 his work was included in Acria: Unframed First Look at the Sean Kelly Gallery in NYC. In 2007 his work was exhibited in Milan and Berlin and included in the exhibition catalogue as part of the TH Inside NOISE exhibition. During the past year and a half he has been working extensively on a project tentatively titled (Life with) Maggie. oferwolberger.com |
 Ronnie and Jo |
 STATEMENT This series of photographs is an archive and a journey through a rapidly changing community and the lives of people who offer brave new visions of what it means to be queer today. To be visible is to become both empowered and vulnerable, even in a world where progressive attitudes are beginning to take hold. These images depict subjects who meet my gaze with a rare combination of forthright self-awareness and total abandon, as if standing in for something much larger than themselves. Although my original investigation is the heart of this project, its blood is more universal. Embodiment is about love and the process of growing up into oneself. It is about the complexity of relationships found between a diverse group of people who playfully reveal unique and subtle shades of gender expression and, with a glance or a simple touch, re-assemble the sometimes delicate anatomy of a family. BIOGRAPHY |