Verena von Gagern-Steidle · ARCHIVE OF THE CLEARING

Photographic and ecological reflections through the windows of life at a ‘remote farmstead’ in Lower Bavaria.

Verena von Gagern-Steidle: … In order to bring these images from the past 35 years together meaningfully in an exhibition, I was guided both by the organisation of the archive and by the significance of the clearing. In line with the shifts from an analogue to a digital perception of the world – which were initially perceived as a turning point – the storage locations are also divided into two categories: the folders containing the negatives in their delicate paper sleeves and contact sheets, and the internal and external electronic hard drives. Within both categories, the arrangements move through the chronologies of years and seasons: initially only through the analogue medium, then alternating in phases, and finally simultaneously and on an equal footing—analogue and digital—depending on the visual concept that inspired a series of observations.
Thus, the negative on the light table and the file on the screen were examined in accordance with the many external visual characteristics which then, in the composition of the exhibition, constituted the totality of the experienced clearing – and so the archive came to the clearing and the clearing to the archive. This explains the title. And, accordingly, the exhibition.
Exhibition opening: Saturday, 18 July 2026 at 7 pm
Exhibition dates: 18 July – 8 November 2026

Last edited on 10.07.2026