Tanja Deman is Archisle International Photographer and she is currently working on a commission of new work in Jersey from the start of April and will continue this until September. Her work will join the Archisle collection at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive for future public enjoyment. She obtained her BFA and MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Her work has been exhibited widely including: Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb / Kunstmuseum Bonn / 15th Venice Biennial of Architecture, 2016 / The Central House of Artists, Moscow / Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka.

Tanja was born in Split, Croatia but has been to various places to conduct her work. In Tanja Deman’s art is inspired by her interest in physical and emotional perceptions of specific spaces, architectures, geological formations and sites. She incorporates photography, collage, video and public art, as well as sociological research. Deman’s images reflect upon the ‘dynamics hidden beneath the surface of built’ and natural environments. In 2015 Deman was commissioned to produce a monumental photographic public art project titled ‘Sommerfreuden’ which presented a wrapping of the Ringturm Tower on the bank of the River Danube in the city of Vienna.

"Saltwater (2015 - ongoing) portrays the underwater landscapes of the middle Adriatic. This photo series represents a physical and emotional connection to the place, and my relationship to this environment, silent yet under constant fluctuation. The series observes morphological formations, the mountains that penetrate the sea depths, the dynamic nature of the water, the transmission and refraction of light and sometimes a swimmer."

"The work documents urban gardens as organic micro areas food productions, green niches inside of the city structure and spaces for pause, contemplation and relaxation.
The photographs are capturing my long walks in Linz, Austria on Pöstlingberg and Freinberg, wondering moments in Bauernberpark and Schlosspark, being lost in the curiosity cabinet of plants and faraway places in the Botanischer Garten, intriguing conversations in Hafengarten and patient labor and attention on organic food growing in Demeter Garden Leisenhof in Linz."

Some of her other works:

Analysis:

I was drawn to this photograph because of many components. Firstly, I find the different tones and shade of black contrasting with the white elements of the photograph, where the light is hitting the water very fascinating and almost peaceful to look at. This is empathised by increasing the contrast levels and maybe decreasing the lighting slightly to give the photograph more of a dark and dusty look.  I specifically like how the photograph also includes the waters surface and it almost acts like a roof to the photograph that gives a sense of strength and stability to the water and also gives it a sense of compression . I also like how you can see the textures of the rocks and the water and how these almost clash. The water creates a soft and elegant line within the photo  contrasting with the strong and harsh patterns created by the rocks. This clearly shows the relationship between Tanja and her environment as she is clearly aware of space, using this to create a sense of eeriness, however she also creates a sense of awe and serenity, it describes the relationship between Tanja and the environment in the sense that despite the world we live in, there is beauty to be found everywhere we look.

Tanja has clearly been inspired by other artists/photographers in her work and has given her new and creative ideas to work with and produce new works such as Robert Adams and Thomas Struth.

Robert Adam:

Robert is an American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American west and he is particularly interested in New Topographic and participated in an exhibition of man-altered landscapes. His photographs are a kind of testimony: evidence of what has been lost and what remains.But they also ask us fundamental questions about how we live amid the contradictions and compromises of progress.  His photographs are of urban sites and he often works in black and white.

This is similar to how Tanja works as her photographs are also of urban environments and she took sometimes uses black and white in a similar to how Robert uses it and could say you can see an element of New Topographics and also is interested in man-altered buildings and nature and how they are linked.

Thomas Struth:

He is a German photographer who is best known for his Museum Photographs, family portraits and 1970s black and white photographs of the streets of Dusseldorf and New York.  He too has taken and shows an interest in urban and ‘ugly’ buildings and capturing the ugly as well as the beauty. These early works largely consisted of black-and-white shots of streets. Skyscrapers were another feature of his work, with many of his photographs attempting to show the relationship people have with their modern-day environment. He never manipulates his photographs and they are never staged.

Although Tanja does manipulate and stage her photographs the key concept of recording the beauty and ugly in an environment is similar. She also works in black and white a lot of the time and she too tries to show the difference between years and how people’s relationships change with this.