Malte Uchtmann

Exhibition views from @staatsgalerie.stuttgart where »Ant*hology« is on view until June 7th. Artist talk on 23.04. The work is based on an algorithm that constantly reconnects its material, forging new relationships between images and fragments of statements about ants. In every cycle the images are juxtaposed with different assertions. In this fragmentary anthology, the documents become ambiguous showing how the same phenomenon is used to legitimize different worldviews. Text and image become sites of negotiation for the production of meaning and documentary evidence. As the piece unfolds, transformations, parallels, and (dis)continuities in the descriptions of ants and humans become visible and the boundaries between myth and reality are destabilized. The algorithm’s endless recombinations, mirror the instability of knowledge - circling around meaning but keeping the narrative unstable. The resulting questions - about how perception and knowledge influence each other and are conditioned by our social standpoint are addressed in performative video sequences in which I perform the figure of the ant. The ant figure becomes an embodiment of its metaphors while I critically reflect on its representation as a cultural construct. It turns into a medium of cultural negotiation in which the boundaries between observer and observed, between knowledge and being blur. Our descriptions are thus exposed to not be mere representations, but creative inscriptions that bring certain realities into being and exclude others.

2 weeks to go! See you @staatsgalerie.stuttgart ✨

Only until sunday! Last call to see our exhibition of the @wuestenrotstiftung Documentary Awards 15 @museum_folkwang . Next stop: @staatsgalerie.stuttgart . The opening takes place on February 6. Video: @andreaslangfeld_ & Kay Özdemir

The exhibition at @museum_folkwang is entering its final days. The @wuestenrotstiftung Dokumentarfotografie Förderpreise 15 are still on view until January 4th. Next stop: @staatsgalerie.stuttgart with the opening on February 6th at 6 pm. »ANT*HOLOGY: De/Bugging the Cultural History of Ants« is an algorithm-based video installation in which fragments of texts and imagery about ants and humans are continuously recombined, exploring how the same phenomenon is used to legitimize different worldviews. The resulting questions – about how perception, knowledge, and social standpoint shape one another – are taken up in performative sequences in which I perform the figure of the ant, critically reflecting on its representation as a cultural construct. Exhibition views from Museum Folkwang. Images 1, 3, 4: @viola.maiwald Image 2: @__hannah__wolf__

CHRISTMAS BOOK SALE ✨ We are offering a limited number of slightly damaged copies (small scratches on the cover) of »The Perfect Crime: Concerning the Murder of Reality« for 20,00€ + shipping. Within the book, we investigate how fictional narratives produce material and immaterial images that subtly reshape our sense of reality and security. We also explore how images are used in police work and examine their status as objective evidence. In an age of Al-generated imagery, fake news, and the growing politicization of fear and uncertainty, the question how we trust images seems more relevant than ever. The cover features thermochromatic ink that reveals fingerprints as you browse, turning the book itself into a forensic gesture. The book includes essays by @_karenfromm „Image Traces: Forensic Media and the Documentary Gaze“, as well as by Aldo Legnaro and Andrea Kretschmann, „Crime Narratives as Narratives of Order“. Published by @kultbooks (2024) Graphic design by @maxheinemann_

Don't miss. Only one week to go until our exhibition on the Wüstenrot Documentary Photography Awards 15 of the @wuestenrotstiftung opens @museum_folkwang . The opening will take place on 9 October at 7 p.m. at the Museum Folkwang. @nazanin_hafez_ @_kristina_lenz_ @alex_simon_klug @malteuchtmann @__hannah__wolf__

One more week to the opening of @wuestenrotstiftung Dokumentarfotografie Förderpreise 15 @museum_folkwang where I am showing my new work ANT*HOLOGY: De/Bugging the Cultural History of Ants. This work was really challenging and I am super thankful for everyone that supported me during the journey. I especially want to thank @springorum__ for the sounddesign, @julius0rg for programming the website, @luca_uchtmann for the camera work and Michael Ohme for the programming of the video installation. Also a big thanks to @biawolf and Pau for the open ear and feedback sessions. Further thanks to @maexschneider for the help with everything regarding sound and to @giulia_cramm for the support regarding the upcoming exhibitions. And last but not least, my laptop for 10 years of faithful companionship ❤️‍🔥 Like many children, I was always fascinated by ants – and working on this project gave me the chance to revisit that fascination in a very intense way. This time, however, it wasn’t so much about escaping into their world, but about discovering new perspectives on my own thinking.

Already missing the last days of 🌞

Always happy if older pictures find a new life in current publications, especially if they contribute to interesting texts. Lately it was an interview I really enjoyed reading by @pursue_rabbit with urban sociologist Ingrid Becker in @diearchitekt "Globale Wanderschaften" about how migration changes our cities not only in terms of planning, but also in terms of everyday relationships, expectations and attributions. Also one more in @szmagazin One of my favorite pictures of @sinja.sophiee regretting having joined me searching for Kaliberge around Hanover. I really recommend reading the interview! You can find it online at Alesa Mustar's Website. /da-breckner?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwLfH7ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpy8xMcoxRInQBXDG97PTBIur6XtenckHyecXMfo0XKWYSOv1jio2TRX8iH5N_aem_BbwJZ83zEjXt_B1WC60lqA

A couple months ago we had the pleasure of talking about our book “The Perfect Crime: Concerning the Murder of Reality” on Brad Feuerhelm’s podcast @nearesttruth . Among other things, we discussed societal implications of televised crime series, the connection between police forensics and the photographic medium as well as our artistic approaches to the topic. Maybe not as thrilling as a true crime podcast, nevertheless close enough ;) The full podcast will be freely accessible for a couple of days before it goes into the archive for subscribers. Thank you so much for having us Brad ! @ordinarylight

As the bugs are coming to life again I am still searching for all the bugs in my current work "ANThology" which digs into the connection of ant and human sociality to naturalize ideas of human organization and hierarchies of class, gender, race and consciousness and more. Still very grateful for the opportunity to realize this project through the @wuestenrotstiftung Dokumentarfotografie Förderpreis 15 and to develop the research that began in 2021 into a finished work by October, when it will first be shown at Museum Folkwang in Essen. Here are some behind the scenes images from the last years while working on the project. Lets see where the ant-venture will still take me ;) Image 3 is from Laure Prouvost at Kunsthalle Wien Image 7 is from Alina Denzin's work "Battery"

In the process of realising our book “The Perfect Crime: Concerning the Murder of Reality”, it meant a great deal to us that our former professor @_karenfromm was willing to contribute an essay that puts our artistic approach to the topic in relation with a well-researched theoretical framework. As always, it was a huge pleasure to work together with Karen Fromm and simultaneously be able to learn and profit from her expertise in the field. “ [Her] text “Image Traces: Forensic Media and the Documentary Gaze” investigates the potential of visual testimony in the context of criminology and forensics, starting with the early use of photography in the 19th century up to the immediate present, which is characterised by the emergence of ubiquitous digital image infrastructures and new techniques of forensics.” The text is now available on the [IMAGE MATTERS] website.