Opening and book launch

The exhibition ‚could be any place…‘ by Lukas Korschan is a visual research on today’s mundane spheres of solitude and conformity across the world - physical as well as of digital nature - and a quest for the glimpses of romance, beauty and poetry within. An ongoing chase for the butterfly.

Presenting outtakes from his first book, designed by Jan Motyka, Lukas enquires the exchangeability of airports, hotels or shopping malls and their meaning to both the individual and society. During the pandemic, these (non)places of hyper capitalism (Marc Auge) that he had documented on his extensive travels remained deserted. Being locked down at home in Amsterdam, the photographer thus flipped the concept and went for a more static approach to photography. He captured people flashing by the lens and assembled the outcome to a dynamic composition. The site-specific installation which is on view as part of the exhibition  illustrates a busy world that is not meant to stop moving.

But where are we all headed anyhow? Lukas pauses our life on the quest for an answer: We see busy travelers commuting in front of graphic backdrops of an unknown airport. The skyline of New York, flowers in Peru, colorful fabrics in Uganda. He is framing moments that can possibly take place anywhere in the world and yet set the tone of modern identity: Holding on to our smartphones as the one thing we have in common, we receive streamlined communication and targeted advertising - hoping for that one text message from your loved one that brings you back to reality.

The show is curated by Benjamin Merten and Simon Melchers who are facilitating a gallery and exhibition space in Schöneberg. Their shared curatorial mindset is driven by an interest in cultural productions from all parts of the world and a profound belief in global and local responsibility.

About the artist:
Currently based between Amsterdam and Berlin, Lukas Korschan created a body of work that bridges the gap between fashion, sports and documentary photography over a course of the last ten years. In both, his commercial and artistic projects, he managed to establish a unique signature. His photography is open to imperfection and often adds a satirical comment on consumption or social injustice. Through his compositions of architectural patterns and colorful details, his photography most importantly brings us closer to each other. His work becomes a place to meet.
Inspiration: 'In a world marked by a speeding up of communications and information, neither identity, nor relations, nor history really make any sense. Spaces in which solitude is experienced as an overburdening or emptying of individuality, only the movement of fleeting images enables the observer to hypothesize the existence of a past and glimpse a future’ (Marc Augé, Non Places).