Bianka Schumann Photography
What the two series of Hungarian photographer Bianka Schumann- “Arkhai” and “Tabula Rasa” – have in common is the concept of memory, explored from two perspectives: the first series reflects on adolescence as the “no-man’s land” between childhood and maturity, a past moment where we constantly return and that we forever long for after we move on to becoming grown-ups; the second, however, unveils another kind of intimacy, that of the deeply personal experiences, the ones that somehow remain hidden inside of us, as our will forbids us to express these emotions of the distant or near past through words.
ARKHAI
The stunningly fragile, honest and secretive world of two adolescences unfolds under the lens of the curious photographer. Following her brother and his friend into the woods, surprising their innocent games, warm gestures, and also the serious look of the ones who silently await the mysterious change, Bianka creates a powerful visual diary of an adult outsider who travels in time but is no longer capable of understanding, as if forced to translate and react to an unfamiliar or forgotten language.
“This is an album about the intimate relationship of two child-grown, grown-child, a main secret book which tells their ordinary and extraordinary world in pictures and I could be a little part of it.”
TABULA RASA
With “Tabula Rasa”, Bianka Schumann highlights the line between what we choose to remember and what we intentionally forget, completely blurring certain memories in our minds. It connects the viewer with a variety of experiences, bitter or sweet, of pain, fear, defeat or of pure happiness, the ones where emotion plays a crucial role. A white sheet is used as symbol for these very personal moments, placed in the emptiness of time and space, in the wildest places, the ‘one’ man’s land.
All images © Bianka Schumann