DE | EN

 

 

 

  © 2024


The dark fabric builds up like a powerful sculptural object in front of the black background, only the exposed neck and chin of a woman hidden behind it, an outstretched hand or bare feet are visible. In photography, Sissa Micheli loves to play with presence and absence, with materiality and sensuality, the pleasure in the extravagant and surreal, the enigmatic and humorous. In the process, the surface of the image that can be seen often refers to something else, something behind it, to a hidden story that can only be guessed at, to a riddle that can only be revealed to a certain extent. Curiously, she approaches her fields of investigation and creates a sensual as well as enigmatic cosmos that moves between reality and fiction, past, present and future.

In general, staging is an essential component of Micheli's work, the moving, dynamic image a constant companion. She uses flying garments to create fascinating temporary sculptures that celebrate the fleeting and ephemeral in a sensually dynamic play. At the same time, the works also epitomize photography's fundamental characteristic of capturing and visually freezing a moment that is imperceptible to the human eye, and giving it meaning. The textiles staged in front of the face and body of a (nude) female figure play with the contrast of veiling and revealing, of protection and defenselessness, showing a vulnerable human being thrown into the world. Micheli began this series of paintings even before the pandemic. They are more topical than ever.

- Günther Oberhollenzer