Camera Austria Graz

Explorations beneath the surfaces of photographs

(Bild: Bildrecht Wien 2024)

In her exhibition "Prospect" at the Camera Austria in Graz, Alexandra Leykauf is exploring, layer by layer, what lies beneath the smooth, two-dimensional surface of photography until May 12.

Nothing here is as it seems at first glance. At first glance, the photographs in Alexandra Leykauf's exhibition at Camera Austria seem more like paintings, her brochures have something almost theatrical about them, and in the videos the artist explores three-dimensional space with a two-dimensional medium.

Appropriation of images
But there is a method behind all this. Leykauf is interested in reproductions. Sometimes also for the reproductions of reproductions and subtly raises the question of authorship. With a grand gesture, she appropriates photographs of pictures and sections of pictures by well-known painters, paints over them with developer fluid and looks for the counterpart in the form of faces in landscape depictions by Edvard Munch, Henri Rousseau, Paul Gauguin and others. What remains after Leykauf's conquest of the photographs are the artists' first names as picture titles.

Alexandra Leykauf sees faces in the landscape: here by August M.

(Bild: Bildrecht Wien 2024)

Landscapes and perspectives
In a second group of works, she also takes a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to the landscape depictions of Graz and its surroundings from past centuries. To this end, she researched the museums in Graz. From the oldest depiction, she cuts out the Schloßberg like a pop-up picture, changing the perspective and adding depth by means of her glass work table. She also cuts out parts of Josef Kuwasseg's (1799-1859) landscapes, trimming back what is supposedly great to its true meaning.

Grazer Schloßberg as a pop-up image

(Bild: Bildrecht Wien 2024)

Finally, Leykauf's videos not only deal with archaic processes such as animal foraging, which she depicts using highly technical means, they also refer to human traces that have been dug into the landscape over the centuries. However, it is not only the merging of nature and technology that is addressed here; the perception of space also plays a major role in these confrontations. "I show a world landscape," emphasizes the artist.

I show a world landscape with everything that goes with it. Following the example of old paintings.

Künstlerin Alexandra Leykauf

Leykauf is also concerned with the question of how she can draw the viewer into the picture. She achieves this perfectly with spatialization. She also skillfully plays with the principle of the frame and the various unusual backgrounds.

Despite all the theoretical questions, the "Prospect" exhibition also offers plenty of viewing pleasure. It can be seen until May 12 in the Camera Austria rooms at the Kunsthaus Graz.