“Through my large-scale images of interior spaces I aim to provoke a visceral interpretation of the ordinary places of our lives,“ explains New York artist Raïssa Venables (*1977). And in fact, her photographs depict spaces that only seem to be physical rooms. In reality, they are spiritual spaces that tell of the deeds, dreams, and nightmares of their inhabitants. Without featuring any people at all, Venables still follows their tracks.
On the computer, she interweaves close-ups of living spaces, hallways, staircases, elevators, or tents into mysterious photographic tableaux. Her Double Bedroom, for instance, creates a claustrophobic impression, due to the size of the beds in relation to the tiny space they are in. Due to the pink fleshiness of the carpet and voluminous bedspread the room takes on human personalities.
This is the first book to present Raïssa Venables’s intoxicating color photographs, in which she pursues tales of places in an intimate and intelligent way.
 

Exhibition schedule: Kunstverein Ulm, March 19–April 23, 2006 · Städtische Galerie Waldkraiburg, February 9–March 18, 2007 · Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, May 10–July 1, 2007 · Kunstverein Grafschaft Bentheim, October 13–December 30, 2007 · Oldenburger Kunstverein, 2007/2008