Aglaia Konrad. Elasticity

Aglaia Konrad photographs metropolises such as Tokyo, São Paolo, Cairo, Paris and Mexico City. She then manipulates these images using techniques including collage and repeating, mirroring and enlarging them. In her two- and three-dimensional installations she not only plays with the phenomena and the images of the city but also toys with questions concerning ambiguity, identity and the perceptions of the viewer. Elasticity is an ambitious and substantial tome that offers an insight into the characteristics and images of the metropolis in a stratified way. Konrad has a highly individual way of manipulating the images, revealing a fascinating topography of urban fabrics, facades, infrastructure, architectural forms and surfaces. In a photographic essay spanning 240 pages she uses her personal photographic archive to 'install' her work in the book in a new sequence and rhythm. The book also offers a reflection on the work in the form of essays, by Daniel Kurjakovic (freelance curator, art critic and art historian), Antonio Guzman (director of the l'Aquarium/Art et Recherche exhibition space/art centre in Valenciennes) and Eran Schaerf (artist) respectively. — Testi: Guzman Antonio, Kurjakovic Daniel et al. F.to: 20x27; pagg. 248; COL e BN; rileg. brossura. Editore: NAI Uitgevers, Rotterdam, 2002.