Akin to an imprint of the real, analog photography retains an aura of authenticity and objectivity. Yet, it involves haptic and chemical processes that open up boundless possibilities for experimentation, where reality and imagination converge into an inextricable mesh. Surrender to the Dreamers explores how contemporary artists use photography to weave imaginary narratives that reveal new perspectives on reality.

The exhibition “Surrender to the Dreamers” shows young artistic positions on the subject of surrealism and photography. The occasion is the exhibition FOTOGAGA. Max Ernst and Photography. A visit from the Würth Collection, which can be seen at the Museum of Photography until April 27. Surrender to the Dreamers is organized and curated by analogueNOW, a non-profit association in Berlin that brings together artists, photographers, curators, educators and photo enthusiasts to promote analog photography.

Surrender to the Dreamers offers a perspective on photography as a medium that transcends the limits of the visible and ventures beyond mere sensory perception. In both exhibitions, artists utilize photography to unveil the hidden and conjure previously unseen, unfamiliar visions.

Through hands-on manipulation and experimentation, the featured artists excavate family secrets, shed light on forgotten women, and reconstruct missing archives, among other pursuits. By materializing shadows and actualizing dreams, the works in the exhibition go far beyond mere escapism. They engage with and challenge dominant representations of reality.

By means of imagination, fiction, and reconstruction, the artists demonstrate how photography can be employed to reveal new ways of seeing and narrating personal, familial, and collective histories. Rather than a result, the photographic image becomes a raw material, altered and reshaped to address absences and fill gaps.

Curated by Claire Ducresson-Boët and Thomas Ming-Hui Stanka