Melanie Wiora (born 1969 in Waiblingen) lives and works in Cologne. After her studies of painting and graphics at the Karlsruhe Art Academy, she studied media art at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. Her photography and videos explore how images have to be created in order to go beyond mere depiction.
So, what is it that we see?
Art historian and curator Christian Krausch describes it as follows:
‘If you take your time and leave the familiar paths of perception to do so, quite distinctive images reveal themselves, which give an account of nature and its dimension that is in essence almost impossible to grasp. They allow something to emerge that is otherwise invisible, as it emphasises the immeasurable variability of nature. [...]
What the artist allows us to see appears unfamiliar and new, as it deliberately does not allow itself to be grasped or consumed quickly. [...] It is this ‘inner view’, coupled with the question of how an altered image of the world can convey more about the motif than just its true-to-life reflection, which Melanie Wiora consistently pursues.’
On Föhr, the artist was initially attracted by the omnipresence of transient light phenomena as well as the direct encounter of sky and water, which she photographed, sketched and captured in her paintings. During her explorations of the island, Wiora also came across small natural artefacts that caught her attention. In the studio, she began to combine these with her painterly sketches and photographed them. This resulted in pictures of playful-looking still lifes that revolve around the themes of change, fragility and evanescence.
