Territory: Photographic Narratives on Space and Identity

In this course, we will explore the topic of landscape—its photographic representation, potential appropriation, and artistic interpretation. Together, we will engage with the following questions:

• What makes a landscape beautiful—or not beautiful?

• What role does landscape play in the contemporary geopolitical context?

• Why is landscape even considered a subject worth depicting?

• What does it reveal about space, belonging, and identity?

• And what do we actually mean by the term "landscape"—is it merely a geographic-topographic phenomenon, or rather a complex cultural construct in which perception, history, usage, and nature intertwine?

In addition, we will reflect on how landscape can be individually appropriated and artistically reinterpreted.

Our exploration begins with a joint two-day excursion, including an overnight stay, to the quarry or Kogelberg in St. Margarethen in Burgenland. (Details about the location can be found in the attached PDF.) On-site, each student will select an individual section or area of the landscape, which will then be artistically processed and interpreted over the course of the semester.

Whether through installation, performance, staging, or documentary approaches—the goal is a photographic (in an expanded sense) realization of the personal occupation and temporary appropriation of the chosen landscape space. I will provide a selection of materials on-site for possible installations and stagings. You are welcome to bring your own materials that you wish to work with in the landscape. Please arrange your own camera and technical equipment.

Should weather or other circumstances make it difficult to develop a piece at the chosen location, you may select an alternative site during the semester and interpret it individually.

The results, as well as the ongoing development of your projects, will be discussed and further developed in regular group meetings throughout the semester.

The course will conclude with a group exhibition, in which the final works will be presented.