exhibition:

ORIT ISHAY
Someone has been
sleeping in my bed

curated by Basak Senova

Opening: Thursday, 21 March, 2019, 7pm
Exhibition: 22/03 – 04/05/2019
Wed to Fri 1pm – 7pm, Sat 10am – 3pm
philomena+, Heinestraße 40, 1020 Vienna

A man is lying on a bed without moving. The position of his body suggests no action by maintaining an immobile posture as if he is dead; it feels like the body will remain completely still. The positioning of his hands raises a suspicion; it is not clear for the viewer whether it was staged to manipulate how the body must be seen and experienced. Nevertheless, the same body posture also stimulates a scene of sleep. Therefore, the photograph creates a tidal situation between life and death.
Each photograph in the Someone Has Been Sleeping in My Bed series displays the same body in distinctly different interior settings that have their unique style, character, theme, fashion, and atmosphere.
Someone Has Been Sleeping in My Bed designates a binary orientation in line with the contemporary discourse of photography: on the one hand, each photograph focuses on visible reality, yet on the other hand, it relates to its photographic trace to various interpretative fields, rooted in pre-existing connotations. Therefore, these photographs question our perception of reality and the medium itself by creating another layer of complexity of vision and gaze on space, time and perspective.

Monday, 25 March, 2019, 7pm: Beyond the Gaze, Panel Discussion at the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
with Orit Ishay (Photo Artist), Basak Senova (Curator of the exhibition) and Christine Bruckbauer (philomena+)
Moderation: Marina Grzinic, Akademie der bildenden Künste Atelierhaus, Lehargasse 8, 1060 Vienna, 1. OG, Atelier Süd