Project Gallery: Ulla von Brandenburg

Alluding to diverse histories rooted in Western traditions, Ulla von Brandenburg (b. 1974, Karlsruhe, Germany; lives in Paris) makes films, drawings, performances, wall paintings, and installations to create multilayered narratives. Her work often references late 19th century expressionist theater, magic, occultism, pre-Freudian psychoanalysis, color theory, and early 20th century Hollywood cinema to investigate how these “pre-archaic” forms relate to modern-day social norms. She creates her own visual vocabulary, combining a range of media to make immersive installations that reconsider contemporary collective experiences.

Von Brandenburg often uses the motif of the theater curtain—a threshold between reality and artifice—interpreted as a tool to challenge the relationship between actors, audience, and the stage. She is also interested in the study of European carnival as a legitimate form of social transgression when individuals employ the notion of mask to explore alternative identities. Engaging with popular customs, von Brandenburg’s work takes the viewer to the space that separates reality and imagination, where time is insignificant, prompting new collective associations. At PAMM, the artist will produce a large-scale installation at the museum’s double height project gallery. “Project Gallery: Ulla von Brandenburg” is curated by María Elena Ortiz, Assistant Curator, at PAMM.