artist talk
Ines Schaber
Berlin-based artist Ines Schaber engages with image archives and photographic archival material. Her works are not only made from and about found archival material but the topic of archiving and the practice of archiving itself become core components of her work. Based on her inquiries and findings she raises the question of how to reflect on the problems that image archives pose today?
This topic of archived material and image archive practices has been a circulating phenomena throughout the field school trip, creating an interconnectedness between conversations, exhibitions, artistic works, and overall common themes between the different field school outings. The field school students had the amazing opportunity to discuss with Schaber about her work, specifically her five part series Notes on Archives about archival material and its practices. Schaber reiterated that she “understands the archive as a place of negotiation and writing” and that we can never separate ourselves from previously harmful archival processes but recognize them (Camera Austria).
The conversation took place at Mauerpark, a local public green space that many Berliners enjoy and indirectly became a non-institutionalized space for open conversation and inquiry. Each student was fortunate enough to gain professional advice and input about their directed study project and hear their peers' ideas and project process during the talk. Schaber not only gave constructive guidance for each student's directed study, but also was considerate to conduct an open conversation with the students, providing them with specific guidance that they could incorporate into their practice and artistic process. Look at her publication Notes on Archives. Archive Books, Berlin; Edition Camera Austria, Graz 2018 – 2019.