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2/5/2007

Natascha Stellmach

Kunstlerhaus Bethanien (old venues), Berlin

The Book of Back

Natascha Stellmach's first solo exhibition in Germany is the result of her year-long Australia Council for the Arts grant and residency as part of the International Studio Programme at Künstlerhaus Bethanien. The cross-media project The Book of Back explores through staged and found photographs, stories, video and installation, a dark family story set between Germany and Australia, underpinned by the poetic Germanic idea of Zerrissenheit - being torn between lands, being torn between worlds, being torn. In this work 'Back' is a metaphor for a lost place, for the past, representing the hidden part of history one often chooses to ignore because it is difficult, painful or sad.

The Book of Back consists of two parts, a 108-page artist book and an installation that hints at a child's room. The room holds bizarre objects, a nightmarish video work in collaboration with composer David Chisholm (http://www.davidchisholm.com) and the book itself. 'Stellmach seeks out contemporary realisations for existential tragedies, fears and anxieties. Engaging with the installation The Book of Back is like finding oneself in a cabinet of reflex mirrors, where stories and images from the artist book of the same name have manifested and come together, including the book itself. Sinking into its dark poetry, the reader is spun into a world within worlds, to a point of intense psychological discomfort.' (Writer / Curator Astrid Mania)

The limited edition artist book can be purchased during the exhibition or through the website. http://www.bookofback.com

Natascha Stellmach lives and works in Berlin and Melbourne. Born to German parents in Australia, both countries have been important sources of inspiration in her work, exploring identity, death, the elusiveness of memory. Exhibiting since 1996, her work has shown in over 50 selected exhibitions including The Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne (ACMI); The Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne; and the Edinburgh, Taiwan and Hannover International Film Festivals. Since 2003 she has collaborated with German artist Boris Eldagsen (http://www.eldagsen.com) as BORIS + NATASCHA.

Opening and book launch: Thursday, May 3, 2007, 7pm

Künstlerhaus Bethanien
Mariannenplatz 2 . - Berlin

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