Pandemonium
Initially, the Pandemonium series was inspired by the imagery of the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. I consider the Pandemonium series to be a microcosm of our society, in which friction, antipathy, and ill feeling dominate our interactions with one another, ultimately dividing us.
But ultimately my work is about the human condition. It is anchored in a moral sensibility that relates to my upbringing on a prison compound where my father was the warden. He held a strong belief in rehabilitation and reintegrating prisoners as productive citizens back into society, treating each person with respect and dignity. I spent the first 18 years of my life in this environment, with daily interactions with prisoners being common. We often had inmates at our family dinner table, just to offer them a reprieve. These real-life experiences nurtured a sense of empathy in me for the human condition, which has been a guiding force in both my life and my work.
My photographic work of late possesses a close aesthetic relationship to performance art, drawing and painting. Process has become more and more important in my art practice. However, my aim has consistently remained within the parameters of the photographic medium in order to discover new ways to articulate my ideas visually. Experimentation and chance have become important tools in my research. A large part of my methodology has been to abandon a considerable amount of control and allow the material to take over in some unexpected and unpredictable ways. My process translates into meaning. I outline myself with a flashlight and record my performances on X-ray film with a self-built 16×20 inches (40×50 cm) camera. The film is processed by applying black & white photo developer with a brush onto its surface. I then turn on the light before quickly applying photo fixer. My unorthodox processing technique often obscures the figures, so I use photographic bleach to reveal them. The outcome is random and unpredictable as life itself.
My unconventional approach to photography raises the question of medium specificity. As photography has been closely identified to the apparatus and to its reproducibility, the questions and limitations as defined in the past have given way to new explorations of alternative fields of study. The incorporation of other mediums has been a vital aspect of my art making, and this expansion opens new avenues of expression.
Website: http://www.andreasrentsch.com/
All photos are one of the kind (unique).
Medium: Unique, 17×14 inches (43.2 x 35.5 cm), light drawing, black & white photo chemicals, photo bleach
