A remote artist collaboration
Julia Kirhgesner, Saint Petersburg, Russia Thomas H.P. Jerusalem (MUTE), Chicago, USA
It wasn’t only the ongoing pandemic that made this project a remote collaboration. Sure visiting Julia in St Petersburg and shooting there on site with local models or having Julia visiting Chicago and shooting with my MUTE models would have been a perfect solution – in a perfect world, but when we started this concept we were in the middle of the first year of the pandemic and hit by the lockdowns. So flying either way was not an option. So how are we going to get the artwork to Chicago?
Julia Kirkhgesner is an artistic painter from St Petersburg. Born 1989 her works are in the field of painting, drawing, collage ( as well as fashion design and accessories). Julia Kirkhgesner’s recognizable artistic handwriting is unprincipled pastiche and subtle lyrical selectivity. From the
artist’s point of view, drama, sincerity, pacification of volumes is key to her painting. Julia’s creativity reveals the author’s strong imaginative thinking, the ability to work with large volumes and spaces. She uses the naked body of a person as an opportunity to show events of any nature, relationships between people and with oneself.
Julia creates paintings for private and public spaces in Russia and Germany with exhibitions in Yekaterinburg, Krasnoturinsk, Pushkinskie Gory, Saint Petersburg Russia.
Thomas H.P. Jerusalem of MUTE Photography is a German Fashion Photographer based in Chicago, IL USA. German native and after living and working in Frankfurt, Germany and London, UK he re- located to Chicago in 2004.
Thomas H.P. Jerusalem is specialized in fashion and conceptual photography with a focus on editorial and commercial work. His work has been published in the US and in international magazines including VOGUE Portugal, Italian VOGUE/PhotoVogue, L’OFFICIEL, PLAYBOY, FHM, ESTETICA, Dark Beauty, DODHO, Kaltblut. He is a PhotoVOGUE Gold Artist, and is represented by the prestigious New York agency Art+Commerce/VOGUE NYC and Motion Licensing, London UK and gallery represented with YELLOWKORNER and LemonFRAME.
Thomas H.P. Jerusalem’s childhood during the Cold War in West Germany and his father’s over-sized 1960’s Photo Academy books from the ‘Famous Photographers School, Westport, Connecticut’ by Irving Penn, Bert Stern and others influenced his style that emphasizes atmosphere and strong narrative. Thomas H.P. Jerusalem started his career with Street Photography and Photojournalism, both very expressive ways of photography that forged his distinctive sensitive approach.
His work includes street and streetstyle photography, dark romantic, high-fashion, avant-garde as well as vintage space-age and minimalism photography with an European touch. His models are often placed in surreal environments – devastated, displaced, out of the world. Their appearances eerie and edgy with rebel and punk influences. Often spiced with irony and sarcasm. But always with a strong meaning or statement. His photographs are strong and are telling stories. His portraits are capturing souls – not just faces.
So how to get the artwork …
With the pandemic lockdown in progress, I was working on a few remote concepts with models in Germany, Brooklyn, NY and Memphis, Tennessee. So the idea working on this concept remotely was something that came to our minds easily. The realization on the other side would still be an issue if I wanted to get my models incorporated, since Julia’s artwork was residing in Russia.
I was working on some 35mm slide concepts a while back – using some 40 year old Kodachrome slides my father took in a circus that was visiting our hometown – incorporating models and made them being part of the story although none of them wasn’t even born when the original photo was taken. Over the next years I picked up this concept a couple of times for some edgy fashion and work.
Using 35mm film instead of managing zoom sessions seemed to be a more artistic approach that would also eliminate issues using remote sessions with several parties in different timezones. Julia was on board.
We agreed on Julie working on getting her work photographed on 35mm positive file and getting them shipped to the states, while waiting on the film to make it to Chicago, I started working with some models on the raw concept using test slides.
The film arrived but unfortunately I had to fly out to Germany seeing my dad. Flying during the pandemic wasn’t fun and wouldn’t it have to be for a family emergency – and fortunately still being a Germany citizen I was allowed into the country. I stayed with my dad for one month and leaving mid of December knowing it was the last time seeing him was the most difficult thing I ever did in my life. My dad passed away 1 month later. Germany went on another lockdown. The funeral in a live stream over the internet. Something changed in me – and now 1 year later it’s still the new normal.
I tried to focus on work after returning to the States – trying to get everything out of my head which was impossible. There was this big VOID following me everywhere. My dad was the one who taught me everything I know about photography, he was my biggest supporter. The concept we are doing is based on a concept with his shots.
End of December we started the first test shoots with random vintage slides and after Julia’s slides arrived I casted some models that I believe may be fitting for this concept.
The idea was projecting Julia’s slides on white paper backdrop and having the model interacting with the picture. incorporating into the work or interfering with the work, destructing the light that forms the picture with their appearance blackening out random pieces of the shot while inhaling those light pieces on their bodies. Main parts of the photos just missing in the shadows, like huge dark spots, like … the void.
The idea wasn’t to make it perfect, otherwise we would have used greenscreen or photoshop. The idea was to make the final picture authentic, real, adding a narrative. Having the model being part of the artwork but still adding some randomness.
QUIET MOVE – the title of this concept, abstract, and random…
When I discussed the idea with the models after seeing Julia’s slides and the way some of them were photographed by Julia’s photographer in St Petersburg, I realized some taken in front of a brickwall, really may make a great virtual gallery. I liked the idea of my models visiting a gallery watching an obstructed painting, partially blacked out by their own shadows, possibly not being aware being the reason of the darkness. Maybe not being aware that part of the work is projected on parts of their body. Which parts are missing? You may not see it if you are not facing the light.
Technical details on the photography part in Chicago. Longer exposure projector work with most of the shots in the range of 1/6 to 1/2 of a second, ISO 200, a light source softbox on the model at 4 o’clock, additionally of the projector light. Camera was my CANON EOS5 Mark IV with a SIGMA 24- 70mm lens on a tripod, remotely triggered.
Models did not see the slides prior to the actual shoot session besides basic instructions and the theme. I really liked the randomness individual models were coming up with.
Thanks to the MUTE models I worked with during this collaboration:
Antonella, Meaghan, Michelle, Ionecca, Cassidy, Kelsey, Asha, Tara, Tailyr, Andy, Gaby, Gena, Tehya, Kaylee, Katie
