Peter Edel – “Waiting For The Man” / Guido Paulussen – “Passing By”

Two artists who take two very different aesthetic approaches to recording images of street activity in, respectively, Istanbul and an unnamed city in Morocco.

Edel’s, “Waiting for the Man” depicts a series of solitary male figures on and around the same pedestrian bridge in Istanbul’s Bakirköy area. They are anonymous strangers who appear from nowhere, stand around in total silence, gesture impatiently or check their mobile phones—marking time. Shrouded in mystery, there is an expectant, yet sinister and threatening atmosphere which Edel captures so effectively.The title of his series references Lou Reed and William S. Burroughs and their penchant for addictive substances. This association was inspired by the location combined with Turkey’s long history as a producer and distributor of opiates.

Peter Edel, graduate (1984) of the Rietveld Academy photographic design department, also works as a journalist and political analyst and is author of a number of books. Further, he has worked as a photographer for art organizations such as Het Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst. His photographic work has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines.

The passing of time is also an important theme in Guido Paulussen’s new photo series “Passing By,” investigating how time effects a change of meaning, form and structure. Original functions disappear, to be replaced by a new beauty. One sees small alleys in various medinas with passersby vanishing into the distance. Like Edel, Paulussen aims for a painterly quality in his photos. He achieves an abstraction by focusing on intense sunlight, hard shadows and brilliant contrasting colours. After an education at the Netherlands Film Academy, Paulussen worked as a cameraman, then as a producer of art programmes for the NOS(Dutch State Broadcaster) andNPS (Dutch Programme Foundation).

Human curiosity combined with technical virtuosity form the basis for this stimulating exhibition.