In order to explore and visualize different perspectives on exile, a group of people who had to leave their homes and are currently living in Vienna, engaged in a collaborative creation and reflection process. The process started with the topic introduction and learning different tools related to the language of photography in the context of different workshops. After practicing different techniques, the group started creating their own photos to show different perspectives of exile. The participants spread out in the city, explored places, people and situations they encountered with the themes of love, loss and longing, as well as their own experiences of flight and exile and captured them with the camera. The photos serve afterwards as impulses to speak about different experiences using participatory methods like “Photovoice”. They talked about their individual approaches, their artistic exploration and their own stories behind the photos.
The entire project will be shown with the touring exhibition “Stages of a Flight” which opens on November 8th at 7pm at Brunnenpassage. The audience is invited to reflect on their own relationship to the topic, rather than merely observe the art works. Topics of refuge, war and the pursuit of freedom concern everybody and require an active engagement. This work shares insights into the photographers’ living realities and opens a platform for conversation, aiming to deconstruct stereotypes and change individual and collective perceptions.
