“Cliché” is a term that is used by artist-in-residence Inga Kerber in a deliberately ambiguous way. The artist explores the reproductive potential of photography as well as classic subjects and motifs. Under the title “Cliché of a Landscape, Jungle”, the Goethe-Institut Hanoi exhibits the photographic works of Inga Kerber from 17 September to 4 October. “Cliché of a Landscape, Jungle” deals with landscapes, forests and nature, which are also the subjects she wants to focus on during her time in Vietnam.
In French, the word “cliché” can mean “the act of taking a picture” and is simultaneously used for the photographic negative. But Inga Kerber’s works also refer to the German term “Klischee” that can stand for shoddy imitation, prejudice or the printing block (part of the letterpress printing process).
The artist records classic subjects and motifs such as flower bouquets, landscapes or animals, making not just one but several analog photos, and changing the camera’s perspective very slightly with each image. This results in what at first glance are unspectacular, everyday images, which the artist then scans and prints, retaining all the flaws and errors that have occurred during the process. Arranged in triptychs, or in series of four or five, these sequences always exhibit variations and nuances in each motif, thereby acquiring an almost irresistible painterly quality.
Free admission.
Inga Kerber, born in 1982 in Berlin, lives and works in Leipzig. She studied photography at the Ecole Nationale Supérieur des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in France and the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig, under Prof. Gütschow & Eiko Grimberg, among others.
Inga Kerber has received numerous awards and scholarships, including the working grant Schloss Plüschow and Marion Ermer Prize. She will be working in Hanoi in 3 months in the Artist-in-Residence program by the Cultural Foundation Saxony.
