Overview
Ulla von Brandenburg has up to now developed an extensive, complex and characteristic oeuvre to which the Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Whitechapel Gallery London are devoting two different exhibitions and a joint, substantial publication.
The motific concentration in the oeuvre of Ulla von Brandenburg, which derives its formal language from folklore, theater and circus, is echoed by an extraordinary diversity in the media utilized by the artist. In her films, installations and drawings, Ulla von Brandenburg introduces methods of the theater in order to investigate social and historical issues. Facets of the stage and theater or the intrinsic rules of play-acting become metaphors for how people live together; the division between audience and actors, reality and illusion is constantly examined and occasionally breached.
Ulla von Brandenburg's references to the theater lead us repeatedly to ask questions that are fundamental to our existence and society: Who are we? What role do we play? What position is assigned to us by our particular role? We are allowed to take a look at the backstage realities of life without losing the fascination we feel with regard to our own performance. With each image that Ulla von Brandenburg reveals to be an illusion, a shadow or a reflection, there arises a new vision of commensurate complexity.
