Ricarda Roggan

The places have existed long before the Leipzig artist Ricarda Roggan (* 1972) has photographed them. In a process of searching and appropriation these ambient situations emerge in her photographs. In the series Garage, Roggan arranges damaged and wrecked cars, depriving them of their signature character, as they emerge from the darkness and, peer from their covers. The surrounding hall, which can only be guessed, is the stage for the mistreated protagonists and the strong light/shadow contrast emphasises their intrinsic staging.  Smashed bonnets, broken-down bumpers or wheels pushed from their axis tell stories of collision and speed, from reality and intoxication, from coincidence and consequence.

… The battered fetishs of motion gain a touch of animism (…): the damaged Renault Clio and the Chysler look like animals, surfacing from the deepest darkest depths of the sea, the bruised BMW like the materialisation of an impetuous way of life.

Courtesy of KW Institute.