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In my artistic practice, I operate at the intersection of photography and painting. In the painting process, I create images on photographic, light-sensitive color negative paper without a darkroom and ambient light. Previously made sketches from my sketchbooks serve as "negatives," which I then transfer onto the light-sensitive color negative paper. These sketches act as templates to structure the image, as there are limited opportunities for image changes after applying the photochemistry. Crucial decisions regarding color choice and application are made in the painting process. My previous experiments have helped me direct the coloration in the image and express my personal visualization on paper. The presented images depict animals, whose fundamental inspiration arises from structural racism. The most frequently occurring animals in this context for me are donkeys, monkeys, dogs, and camels. "Donkey fucker" or "camel breeder" are just two examples among many. The animal figures in my images often take on a mixture of the aforementioned animals. This hybrid representation refers to my own ethnic background. My mother is from Palestine, while my father grew up in Vienna in an Austrian-German family. The connection between racially connoted animals and my reference to mixture forms the fundamental starting point of these beings. These animal figures now serve as protagonists in my works, which I deploy in various contexts. Often, disproportionate power structures and struggle are addressed. These themes reflect my personal experiences, where questioning my identity has often unintentionally led to conflict-ridden situations or uncomfortable feelings. The depiction of these situations manifests through the toxicity of the chemicals applied to the paper, where the thematic content intersects with the material. The image is hung freestanding on the wall using spacers and magnets. This allows the viewer to get very close to the image and examine the technique up close - almost as if they could still smell the chemicals. The unevenly cut shapes from the roll of paper are retained. Thus, I attempt to maintain the reference within the rectangular photographic image but break it vertically.
All of this combines for me the painterly process in the photographic image.
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