On show in the Print Sales Gallery at The Photographers’ Gallery, the new serie of Alma Haser: Everything Has an End, Only a Sausage Has Two, explores the quirks of German idioms, their origins and often-unexpected English translations. Here is the presentation :
Born in 1989 in the Black Forest to a German father and an English mother, Alma Haser grew up bilingual, sparking a fascination with language, wordplay and the poetic absurdity of literal translations – all of which influence her work.
German sayings, when translated word for word, often take on a strange, dreamlike quality. Expressions like “We are sitting beautifully in the ink” (To be in trouble through one’s own fault) or “To have a tomcat” (to have a hangover) offer Haser a wealth of surreal imagery to explore.
Haser merges photography with sculptural techniques – many of her works take shape as three-dimensional pieces, playing with folds, layers and structures to bring language to life. Haser attributes her sensitivity to the fluidity of words, in part, to her dyslexia – an influence that fuels her inventive approach to language and image.
“The manipulation of the image throughout the work, incorporated through the use of paper folding techniques, ceramic sausages and inventive collage, mirrors the evolving nature of the idioms themselves. I found that there was something both lost and gained in the translation of the words.” – Alma Haser
This project not only celebrates bilingualism but also reimagines language visually. Expanding on the literary tradition of absurdist wordplay, Haser creates a tangible world where the ordinary becomes bizarre and the absurd is presented as reality.
Alma Haser : Everything Has an End, Only a Sausage Has Two
24 April – 22 June 2025
The Photographers’ Gallery
Print Sales Gallery
16-18 Ramillies St.
London W1F 7LW, United Kingdom
https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/
