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Self-Portraits with the Camera Obscura

Ono Ludwig

Since 2009, the Berlin photographer Ono Ludwig has been exploring the creative potential of the camera obscura. He continues to create playful and sometimes unsettling self-portraits today in continuously developing series. As a result of the camera obscura’s long exposure time, Ono Ludwig does not have to worry about reflections or reaction time, and he exploits the resulting dramatic freedom. The tension that is immanent in the portraits arises from the play of humour and anxiety, irony and seriousness, nearness and distance. It reveals a duality of the outer and the inner, the visible and the concealed, the touching and the grotesque, the real and the fictional, the voyeuristic and the exhibitionistic. The dramaturgy of the photographs transcends gender boundaries and shows not only individuals from Ono Ludwig’s life but also icons of the past and the present. The photographer surrenders himself to the interpretation of the public, reflects his own state of mind and encourages viewers to mistrust the codes that establish identity.