Malte Uchtmann

In collaboration with Jan A. Staiger, »The Perfect Crime: Concerning the Murder of Reality« takes the overrepresentation of televised fictional murder as the starting point of exploring possible effects of crime fiction on our perception and behaviour. Through different visual levels, it explores the extent to which supposed knowledge about police work, potentially hazardous locations and alleged characteristics of victims and perpetrators is reinforced through fictional representations in crime series. In photographs taken on the sets of German crime series, we create an exaggeration of the staged scenes, abstracting what is shown and reinforcing the theatrical character of what is depicted. Juxtaposed with supposedly authentic photographs of corpses and crime scenes, taken from the archives of the film productions, we question the promises of photographic authenticity. In a two-channel video installation, various actors recite basic information about their roles as victims and perpetrators in crime series. The portrait series questions the historical use of photographic portraits for the categorization and stereotyping of alleged criminals. Based on the creation of phantom images and the use of AI in modern police work, various processes of change are applied to the actors’ faces to create new possible versions of themselves, so that the actual person is no longer clearly identifiable. Another part of the work is a three-channel video installation, in which three different tracking shots are used to guide the viewer through locations that have served as film sets for fictional crime scenes. The locations were documented as 3D reconstructions using photogrammetry - a procedure increasingly used in today's police work. Subsequently, the perception of each space is changed by means of various virtual stagings in order to examine the emergence of so-called "fear spaces". The work was published as a book with Kult Books.

The work “ANKOMMEN” explores the state-provided architectural infrastructure for accommodating refugees in Germany. It examines the effect that the construction methods and urban planning measures prevailing in this area can have on refugees and locals, as well as the social and political structures embedded in them. Among other things, it deals with the questions of where integration begins, as well as the extent to which architecture can have a discriminatory effect and whether it consciously excludes people. Although Germany has become known for its “welcoming culture”, consciously and unconsciously material and immaterial borders are created, which make it difficult for refugees to arrive. Through my work, I aim to raise awareness of the impact of architecture in accommodating refugees and to stimulate a discussion of the extent to which structural and institutional racism are embedded in our society and in architecture. By recognizing these mechanisms, we not only gain an understanding of the situation of the people affected, but also the possibility to change the conditions. The book dummy was awarded the German Photo Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Kassel Dummy Award. It was published with Kult Books.

The work “ANKOMMEN” explores the state-provided architectural infrastructure for accommodating refugees in Germany. It examines the effect that the construction methods and urban planning measures prevailing in this area can have on refugees and locals, as well as the social and political structures embedded in them. Among other things, it deals with the questions of where integration begins, as well as the extent to which architecture can have a discriminatory effect and whether it consciously excludes people. Although Germany has become known for its “welcoming culture”, consciously and unconsciously material and immaterial borders are created, which make it difficult for refugees to arrive. Through my work, I aim to raise awareness of the impact of architecture in accommodating refugees and to stimulate a discussion of the extent to which structural and institutional racism are embedded in our society and in architecture. By recognizing these mechanisms, we not only gain an understanding of the situation of the people affected, but also the possibility to change the conditions. The book dummy was awarded the German Photo Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Kassel Dummy Award. It was published with Kult Books.