KYOTO, JAPAN
Birthe Piontek
Selected images from ZERO HOUR.
On display until August 2026.on
Display
In Zero Hour, Birthe Piontek looks into Germany's past to understand a war-ridden and divided present tense, tracing the country's post-WWII history, societal structures and values by looking at photography's role in reconstructing a nation emptied of symbolism and role models after 1945. Combining images from Piontek’s family archive, press images, and constructed still lifes with political transcripts and documents, Piontek seeks to understand how Germany, once the "poster child of peace and democracy”, finds itself entangled in current wars and seduced by a rising national populism.
Zero Hour visualizes the tangled web of multinational interests and policies related to Germany's postwar rise to power, influenced predominantly by the United States. Some of the book’s archival images serve as source material for digital collages and alterations; others are left untouched. Some texts are historical, while others are taken from current political party platforms. Promises, facts, and fiction are blended, asking the viewer to re-evaluate our relationship to seemingly well-known narratives, history, and collective and individual memory.
Birthe Piontek is a visual artist who works in photography, sculpture, and drawing. Her practice explores the interconnection of photographic images, history, as well as personal and collective memory.
Piontek’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America and is featured in many private and public collections, such as the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and the Museum of Applied Arts in Gera, Germany.
Piontek is the author of several photography books. The project The Idea of North won the Critical Mass Book Award in 2009 and was published by Photolucida in 2011. Her project Abendlied received the Edward Burtynsky Grant in 2018 and was nominated by Time Magazine as one of the best photo books in 2019. Her third book, Janus, was published in 2021, and her newest project, Zero Hour, is available via Gnomic Book.
She lives in Vancouver, Canada, where she is an Associate Professor of Photography at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
ビルテ・ピオンテクは、写真、彫刻、および絵画を制作するビジュアルアーティストです。彼女の実践は、写真画像、歴史、個人的および集合的な記憶の相互関連性を探求しています。
ピオンテクの作品は、カナダ、アメリカ、ヨーロッパ、アジア、南米での個展やグループ展で展示され、シカゴ現代写真美術館やドイツのゲーラ応用美術館など、多くの個人および公共コレクションに収蔵されています。
ピオンテクはさまざまな写真集を出版しています。彼女のプロジェクト「The Idea of North」は、2009年にクリティカル・マス・ブック・アワードを受賞し、2011年にPhotolucidaから出版されました。プロジェクト「Abendlied」は、2018年にエドワード・バーティンスキー・グラントを受賞し、2019年にはタイム誌の年間ベスト写真集の一つにノミネートされました。彼女の3冊目の写真集「Janus」は2021年に出版され、最新プロジェクト「Zero Hour」はGnomic Booksから入手可能です。
彼女はカナダのバンクーバーに住んでおり、同地にあるエミリー・カー美術大学で写真学の准教授を務めています。
books by
CHOSE COMMUNE
www.chosecommune.com
Chose Commune is a French publishing house based in Marseille, run by French/Japanese co-founder Cécile Poimbœuf-Koizumi since its creation in 2014.
Driven by the desire to discover — or rediscover — the works of lesser known figures on the international scene, Chose Commune curates, designs, edits and publishes artists’ books in the fields of photography, works on paper and ceramics.
Each of our books is published with the idea of existing “on its own” — designed in close collaboration with the artist and always carefully crafted, they are the result of an encounter and an independent research, and embody our commitment to supporting and distributing unique and essential work.
LIBRARY & PUBLISHERS ARCHIVE
Our home is founded on the principles of promoting the work of artists and publishers. Our library is seasonally curated by renowned publishers, bookstores, authors, and artists working in the field of photography. For part of the year, our home is available to traveling photographers, publishers, writers, and curators as a residency and homestay. On occasion, selected works are on display.
Our space is closed to the public for walk-ins and is for the enjoyment of our artists and private guests who book to stay. Please do not disturb artists in residence or guests. Artists in residence may open the house at short notice for appointments only.
834 MIBUは、京都を拠点とするアーティストのためのレジデンスであり、京都の歴史ある町屋でのホームステイ先としてのご利用も可能です。2024年に設立された当スペースは、写真の分野で活躍するアーティスト、キュレーター、出版社、作家を受け入れています。
834 MIBUは、アーティストや出版社の仕事を促進するという原則に基づいて設立されました。ライブラリーでは、写真の分野で活躍する著名な出版社、書店、作家、アーティストの作品を季節ごとに展示しています。一年間のうちの一定期間には、写真家、出版社、作家、キュレーターの皆様への滞在先、ホームステイ先を提供しています。厳選された作品の展示が行われることもあります。
当スペースでは、一般の方の立ち入りを禁止しており、アーティストと宿泊を予約された個人のお客様に楽しんでいただくためのものとなっています。滞在中のアーティストやゲストの邪魔にならないようご注意ください。滞在中のアーティストは、ご予約の上、急遽ハウスを開放することもできます。