Miron Zownir – Poet of Radical Photography – Cologne
Hardhitta Gallery presents Poet of Radical Photography, a solo show by German photographer Miron Zownir. Famous for his images taken in Western metropoles such as Berlin, London, and New York, and in post Communist Eastern Europe, Zownir is regarded as one of the most radical contemporary photographers of the last 40 years.
’’Over four decades, he has chronicled the decadence of pre-Giuliani New York, the lawlessness of Moscow immediately after the fall of Communism, freedom and transgression in unified Berlin just after the wall came down. His is a poetry of decay, inhabited by junkies, bums, criminals and freaks – society’s lost, dispossessed and damned.’’– Guardian, London
Zownir’s photographs often depict social outcasts: drug addicts, the homeless, and sex workers. It is said that Zownir continues where Weegee and Diane Arbus left off.
His powerful black & white images draw attention to those who are often overlooked, shunned, or forgotten.
’’They are the dark sides of human existence, the gloomy loneliness of the nether regions of society, the existential exceptional states and boundary areas of the human psyche, which Zownir seeks out and makes visible at an uncomfortably close distance.’’– Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
Through his unadorned visual language addressing taboo-breaking and socially critical issues, Zownir has become an informal ambassador of marginalized communities.
His photographs, taken exclusively with an analog camera on Kodak Tri-X 400 film since the 1970s, document moments of displacement, destruction, and intimacy.
NYC 1983
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
24 x 18 cm (9.5 x 7.1 inches)
40 x 30 cm (15.7 x 11.8 inches)
50 x 40 cm (19.7 x 15.7 inches)
NYC 1981
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
NYC 1982
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
24 x 18 cm (9.5 x 7.1 inches)
40 x 30 cm (15.7 x 11.8 inches)
50 x 40 cm (19.7 x 15.7 inches)
NYC 1982
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
NYC 1983
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
NYC 1980
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
NYC 1983
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
24 x 18 cm (9.5 x 7.1 inches)
40 x 30 cm (15.7 x 11.8 inches)
50 x 40 cm (19.7 x 15.7 inches)
NYC 1980
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
Natalia Avelon, Berlin 2007
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
Berlin 1980
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
Silver gelatin archival print
Edition of 13 plus 2 AP
18 x 24 cm (7.1 x 9.5 inches)
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.7 inches)
40 x 50 cm (15.7 x 19.7 inches)
