Einkaufswagen
Shopping Carts: They stand neatly in a row in front of supermarkets, always prepared to be of service to transport goods for us. Yet sometimes these practical aids to our consumption are yanked from their trusty environment and take on a new symbiotic relationship to unusual places: knocked over, upside down, hung on fences and propped against bushes, filled with curious things and alienated. It is not at all rare to encounter them as a duo-pack, deep in a couple-like dialogue and often blended into their surroundings. For over three years the photographer Luca Ellena has been on the trail of such displaced shopping carts and their impact on Berlin’s image, and has recorded these sculptural objects in all their bizarre poses
The project was published by KERBER in 2020 and exhibited at Gallery Monika Wertheimer in Basel from March to April 2021 and at photo basel 2021.
The Division of Urban Habitat
Barriers, prohibition signs, inaccessible surfaces. The urban habitat created by mankind is full of individual parts. One could call these situations staged spectacles of post-industrial society. In any case, they are constructions of the urban, western European space. The impenetrability of our cities fascinates me; I have the feeling that more doors are being closed to me than opened. Signs are everywhere, brittle glass lies on the ground, and the cold concrete seems repulsive and bulky, yet in a certain way it is attractive. This impenetrability led me to wonder how we perceive our immediate environment. Is the way how our surroundings are constructed actually serving human beings?
The Project was part of the Graduate Exhibition #29 SILVER_LININGS from October to November 2021 at the Neue Schule für Fotografie in Berlin.
Scala Naturae
The hierarchy of nature, the chain of beings, the hierarchy of the living. The concept of the Scala Naturae reflects humanity’s need to organize and categorize the world. Is it for our own comfort and elevation? Jean-Paul Sartre simplified the world into the Living and the Existing – with humans as the only beings capable of transcending mere existence.
Reflecting on his cat, photographer Luca Ellena began to ponder and question this concept. The result is e black and white photo series that takes a curious and questioning look at our living environment. Ellena peers into the soul of his subjects. Through a play of distance and closeness, he imbues the subjects with a special aura, inviting viewers to immerse themselves. Light and shadow shape graceful scenes, evoking stories and processes in the mind’s eye.
The project was published in cooperation with Selfselfbooks in 2024 and exhibited at
Luca Ellena (born 1997) lives and works in Fribourg. He studied Photography at the Neue Schule für Fotografie in Berlin (2017-2021) and holds a BA in Communication and Media Research from the University of Fribourg.
Location
Contact
Exhibitions
- 2024Scala Naturae, Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Basel
- Scala Naturae, Book Vernissage & Exhibition, Sensler Museum, Tafers
- 2023100 Ausstellungen, Group Exhibition, Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Basel
- Musée d’Art de Pully, near. Group Exhibition Lac Léman, Pully
- 2022Galerie1934, Open-air Exhibition, Renens
- Concrete Nature, Group Exhibition "Changing Planet", Eco-Parque Buenos Aires
- 2021Einkaufswagen, Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Basel, Switzerland
- Cats, being, not being, Me, Group Exhibition ‘FUTURO’ (with Catalogue), Fototeca Siracusana, Siracusa, Italy
- Concrete Nature, Group Exhibition ‘Changing Planet’, Michael Horbach Stiftung, Cologne, Germany
- Einkaufswagen, photo basel 2021, Basel, Switzerland
- The Division of Urban Habitat, Graduate Exhibition ‘Silver_Linings’, Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin, Germany
- 2020Aufenthalt, Group-Exhibition “Mane-Männer”, Sensler Museum, Tafers
- 2018Nature, Grain and Simplicity, 48h Neukölln Festival, Hase Berlin
- Wir sind, Fondations Les Buissonnets, Fribourg
Publications
- 2024Scala Naturae, Selfselfbooks, Milan
- 2022CATS, DITO Publishing, Rome (Group Publication)
- 2021The Division of Urban Habitat, Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin (booklet)
- 2020Einkaufswagen, KERBER, Bielefeld/Berlin
Exhibitions
- 2024Scala Naturae, Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Basel
- Scala Naturae, Book Vernissage & Exhibition, Sensler Museum, Tafers
- 2023100 Ausstellungen, Group Exhibition, Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Basel
- Musée d’Art de Pully, near. Group Exhibition Lac Léman, Pully
- 2022Galerie1934, Open-air Exhibition, Renens
- Concrete Nature, Group Exhibition "Changing Planet", Eco-Parque Buenos Aires
- 2021Einkaufswagen, Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Basel, Switzerland
- Cats, being, not being, Me, Group Exhibition ‘FUTURO’ (with Catalogue), Fototeca Siracusana, Siracusa, Italy
- Concrete Nature, Group Exhibition ‘Changing Planet’, Michael Horbach Stiftung, Cologne, Germany
- Einkaufswagen, photo basel 2021, Basel, Switzerland
- The Division of Urban Habitat, Graduate Exhibition ‘Silver_Linings’, Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin, Germany
- 2020Aufenthalt, Group-Exhibition “Mane-Männer”, Sensler Museum, Tafers
- 2018Nature, Grain and Simplicity, 48h Neukölln Festival, Hase Berlin
- Wir sind, Fondations Les Buissonnets, Fribourg
Publications
- 2024Scala Naturae, Selfselfbooks, Milan
- 2022CATS, DITO Publishing, Rome (Group Publication)
- 2021The Division of Urban Habitat, Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin (booklet)
- 2020Einkaufswagen, KERBER, Bielefeld/Berlin