Look at me
Lisa Roehrich

Lisa Roehrich examines minority or stigmatised social groups and the ways individuals within thesegroups come to define themselves. Her initial work has focused on skinheads, gypsies and also fashion models, whom she considers in light of the stereotypes that generally attend them.Wishing to consolidate her work and to distance herself from the subjective documentary approach of her earlier years, from 2008 the artist decided to film her subjects in the manner of AndyWarhol’s “Screen Tests”. Contrary to her illustrious predecessor, whose filmed portraits revealed his fascination for celebrity, she uses this method to film unknown people. Bewildered by the image ofyoung people and their representation in our society, she directed her research towards adolescents; as it happens, towards those who regularly gathered in front of a shopping centre in her town.

The protagonists were instructed to present themselves in whichever way they choose to appear. On a formal level, the video and the decision to film at night contributed to the dramatization of thesubjects, reinforcing their presence in the picture, while resorting to slow-motion accentuated their ambiguity towards the fixed image.Lisa Roehrich subsequently continued her project in Lebanon, where she analysed the position of youths within in a particular politico-religious environment that was not conducive to theexpression of individual identity. For her contribution this summer to the 2011 Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography, she has chosen to return to the adolescents of her town and to explore new paths.Aside from its sociological import, this work entitled “Look at me” considers the question of time in the process of perception and its effects upon the content of artistic expression.

Look at me Lisa Roehrich

Lisa Roehrich

Current edition

2024

Schule für Gestaltung Bern und Biel

Stammtisch

Collectif Le Salon & guests

Apostrophe

Brigham Baker

Nina Rieben

Look at me
Lisa Roehrich