Public Lands Institute

Work from their Archive.

“Public Lands Institute is an ongoing photographic index of public lands. This work is dedicated to the Public Domain under the Creative Commons CC0 (Public Domain Dedication) license.

The term “public domain” encompasses those materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. No individual owns these works; rather, they are owned by the public.” – Public Lands Institute

Zoe Leonard

Work from Al río / To the River.

“Following the river’s course from the border cities of Ciudad Juárez and El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico, Leonard considers the conflation of, and boundaries between, nature and politics as they manifest in the landscape.

‘Al río / To the River’ is structured through ‘passages,’ sequences of photographs that impart a sense of movement. Pointing to the dynamism of the river, Leonard groups images so that the topography and communities depicted invite associations and interpretations from the viewer.

The artist depicts the river and surrounding borderlands with an eye for the complexity of the various ecosystems, communities, and histories that converge at the river—from families swimming off the riverbank at Ciudad Juárez, to helicopters and border patrol vehicles on sentry; and from dams and irrigation canals, to bridges and boundary markers.

In thoughtfully composed, black-and-white analogue photographs, Leonard reveals the tensions that erupt when a river is made to perform a political task. Like much of Leonard’s work, ‘Al río / To the River’ reflects upon the historical role that photography has played in defining territories and shaping social consciousness as well as its present function as an instrument of surveillance.

By employing a range of perspectives from both sides of the river, her work blurs the various binaries so often ascribed to the border and underscores the often-imposing infrastructure that has been built around the river.

The full work, ‘Al río / To the River,’ encompassing hundreds of photographs, debuted at MUDAM, Luxembourg, in February, and will travel to the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris this fall. Hauser & Wirth’s exhibition presents excerpts from this epic project for the first time in the United States.” – Hauser and Wirth

Alice Poyzer

Work from Other Joys.

“Other Joys is an ongoing body of work that highlights my special interests as a woman with autism, through portraits and constructed imagery. Featured are butterflies, animal shows and taxidermy; all of which create an intense feeling of euphoria and excitement that is almost indescribable. Special interests are common within the autistic community and, whilst they may differ from person to person, the joy they provide is one we all understand.

The process of making these photographs provides me with a safe space to feel at ease and to unmask. Either on my own or with a few individuals close to me, in places that give me such excitement, I’ve been able to experience my autistic joy to the fullest throughout this project– something that I cannot always access in day to day life. What was once a fear of being deemed different has now become a celebration of self-acceptance and understanding.

Additionally, throughout the work there are comments on my own autistic traits, such as my need for sensory comfort and how easy it is for me to be overwhelmed. The self-portraits featured, all different in tonality, expression and mood, mirror how I feel in real life; constantly changing myself to fit in with others, whilst the repetition of certain symbols suggests my need for rigid routine.” – Alice Poyzer

Annette Kelm

Work from her oeuvre.

“Annette Kelm’s photographic œuvre offers a unique outlook onto the socio-cultural history of the material world. The artist uses a vast array of motifs as vocabulary to address specific moments in this history, whether it is the commodification of design objects, various forms of political critique or value systems such as money and finance.

Kelm’s exhibitions gather images of floral sculptures, landscapes, portraiture, photographed buildings, and ephemeral objects of all scales. Meticulously picked, the artist’s subjects enter in collision and contrasts where the objective converges with the subjective, the every-day encounters the historical, and the impartial becomes political.

Her practice draws from conventional studio photography techniques: employing a large-format camera and depicting her subjects in front of a backdrop. The arrangements that the artist sets up at her studio are often playful, retain an experimental character or are seemingly captured glimpses of time. Kelm’s distinctive approach to the photographic medium made her a prominent figure of contemporary photography in Germany and worldwide.” – Esther Schipper Gallery

Tania Franco Klein

Work from Proceed to the Route.

“The map as a representation of the territory, and the internet as a representation of life.
Proceed To The Route takes its name from the popular quote which starts every journey in
Google Maps and which appears a s a reminder every time a wrong turn is done.

The roads and freeways once shaped the paths of progress. Today, those roads are mostly
visited by passengers who rarely know where they are going but flow at a fast pace without
stopping. Having access to the knowledge to go anywhere, and still knowing nothing.
Progress has overpassed us, leaving a state of nothingness and confusion in our
eclectic-overconnected reality in which history runs faster than the seconds on the clock.

It is in the emptiness of the countryside that one can situate an encounter of an old lifestyle
that still waits for its abandonment and containment, reflecting the new growth of a central capitalist system.

The drifters and travelers, all passing through some state of nothingness, that share private
moments in public spaces, are a clear example of the ephemeral, crowded, and at the same
time almost empty, leftovers of contemporary cities.” – Tania Franco Klein

Casey Moore

Work from Fault Lines.

“This ongoing project explores major fault lines in the earths crust. It began in my home town of Christchurch where earthquakes have become commonplace. There is an uneasy feeling throughout the area which is experiencing regular aftershocks. The city centre is still being rebuilt and large swathes of land around the river lay derelict and unable to be redeveloped. These double exposures seem peaceful and disconnected from reality but the overlapping of the ocean and geology is suggestive of the fragility of the land sitting on these fault lines.” – Casey Moore

Y. Malik Jalal

Work from his oeuvre.

“Y. Malik Jalal (b. 1994, Savannah, Georgia) utilizes traditional craft and collage techniques to explore themes of Black history, power and humanity. By merging materials like steel and iron with an index of found photos depicting Black American family life in unexpected and intimate moments, he addresses the transformation of industries and inequalities, referencing both the legacy of metal artisans in the South and pop culture. His work combines African customs with violent American events, incorporating symbols from advertising and Black horror to reflect collective anxiety. Influenced by Islam, Christianity, and Spiritualism, Jalal’s art forms a multifaceted expression of Blackness, drawing from diverse perspectives and critiquing societal norms.” – murmurs

Bas Ketelaars

Work from Edges of Landscape.

“Edges of Landscape is the result of a (analogue) photographical exploration of natural areas within Europe with a focus on textures and surfaces in nature. The publication combines these photographs with drawings based on landscapes at different scales.” – Bas Ketelaars

Ronni Campana

Work from Badly Repaired Cars.

“Campana’s photo book is an artful documentation of cars, trucks, and other vehicles that have undergone DIY improvements in east London. Close up, angular photographs shows cars ingeniously—or depending on your outlook, amateurly—patched up and held together by tape, cardboard, glue, and plastic. The images in the publication are carefully curated according to their color and composition; together forming a bright, bold and lighthearted documentation that celebrates the best in abstract photography of the modern day. Capturing the mundane details of this ubiquitous mode of transport used by so many, Badly Repaired Cars is a surprisingly effectual example of finding graphic beauty in form. In an introduction to the book, Tom Seymour writes: “Campana asks us to celebrate the mechanics and the botch job. The craftsmanship and the temporary repair. The underlying engineering and the ‘Fuck this, it’ll do. Now hop in and let’s get going’”.” – IGNANT

Joanna Wierzbicka

Work from Soft Gut Lining.

“In an age where conspiracy theories and technological paranoia permeate discourse, the boundary between justified concern and irrational fear grows increasingly blurred. These three artists probe this territory by presenting works that embody mechanisms of deception and surveillance.

…

Joanna Wierzbicka’s soft, flesh-like sculptures present bodies in constant adaptation, hovering between organic and artificial, familiar and alien. These speculative appendages, imagined for survival in hostile environments, give form to our collective anxieties. Like the fictional organisms of conspiracy theories, they suggest a future where adaptation becomes a kind of camouflage. Her holobionts blur the boundaries between self and environment, organism and technology, raising questions about what forms of transformation survival might demand in an ever-shifting world.

Together, these works create a hall of mirrors where paranoia meets confirmation, where the tools of deception become the means of survival. The exhibition asks: in a world where everything can be fabricated, how do we distinguish between legitimate concern and manufactured fear?” – Edita Malina