An intimate photography project from Ukraine
With an open, calm gaze, Olga looks into the lens of Berlin-based photographer Volker Kreidler. She is wearing a plain sweater. Behind her is a clothes rack with colorful glittering wardrobe. Olga is a protagonist in Kreidler's latest photographic research project called "Tinder." Kreidler approached Olga through the dating app and arranged to meet her. His photographs look behind the appearance of self-presentation on the social platform. They can be seen as part of the European Month Of Photography (EMOP) at Galerie CLB Berlin.
Image gallery
Already since 2019, Kreidler regularly travels to Ukraine to meet women via Tinder. This start from real life is important to him. Because Kreidler is not simply looking for models with whom he can book dates. "I want to look behind the styled facade that many Ukrainian women put on Tinder," he explains. Even during the pandemic and even after the outbreak of war, he does not stop the project, because now it is even more important to depict the reality of life behind the media images.
"Every woman, every date and every story is different," Kreidler says. Many women are quick to have their picture taken. They want to show themselves as they are, unadorned, truthful. The project confronts Kreidler with hopes and upheavals. He stays in contact with some models for months, witnesses how they have to flee. Kreidler is now presenting the results of his research for the first time in large-format, framed prints. In the meantime, his research continues.
His contacts with people in the country are spreading, he's meeting bloggers - perhaps he'll photograph them, too. Because Tinder, Kreidler says, just like Instagram and other social apps, is no longer just a platform for self-expression, but has become an important medium of communication in Ukraine.
This process-oriented openness corresponds to Volker Kreidler's way of working. Kreidler travels through Eastern and Central Europe, documenting transformation processes, interconnections and interdependencies of the historical yet fragile continent through changing places and encounters with people.
The exhibition's program is rounded out by performances by the Berlin-based dance company STEVE; their theme is "The Impact of Social Media." In doing so, they examine the impact of the social, digital flood of information on the physical and mental condition and on real social relationships. To do this, the dancers deliberately step out of the theater space and seek their audience in other public contexts.
Additional information
Exhibition opening & performance: 16.03.23 at 18.30 hrs
Opening hours: 17.03.- 02.04.23
Wednesday to Saturday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Artist Talk: 01.04.2023, 6 p.m.
Interactive dance installation: 01.04.2023, in 2 rounds, duration 1 round approx. 20-30 min, 15.00-16.00 h and from 16.30-17.30 h
