Background information
"'Plánētes' — The title of this work by German photographer Birgit KRAUSE is derived from the Greek word for 'roamers' or 'wanderers'. Her picture cycle can also be thought of as a wandering or a walking tour. It lures us into puzzling distant worlds that are dark and disconcerting, and yet at the same time familiar. Where are we? In the future? In the past? Or on another planet? Her photograühs were created in the here-and-now. They defamiliarize the everyday and mirror through it our wishful dream of something that lies outside ourselves. Far away, in another time or in a distant universe. 'Plánētes' depict our longing for eternity. The planets are the wanderers within us." (© Florian Scheibe)
Content
"For her out-of-print photo volume 'Plánētes', Birgit KRAUSE took pictures of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The photos also show technical devices, boxes, rocks – apparently a reference to scientific work. One believes to see the documents of an astronomical journey. That’s what it might look like out there: infinite space, cool rocks, colourless landscapes, the glistening and green depth of the oceans. Playing with our imagination and our perception of reality, she questions the reality content of our perceived conceptions, thereby taking us on a trip full of alluring illusions. The appeal of deception might also be what creates the lasting effect of her photographs – phantasms of a dreamlike beauty. Trusting her own vision entirely, the photographer does not stage her pictures, but finds a new, strange land in reality." (© Ute MAHLER)
Additional information
The photo volume 'Plánētes' by Birgit KRAUSE has been sold out shortly after publication, so it was published a second time in 2014 and the second edition also sold out quickly.