Hannah Schleifer

My practice is located within a methodological framework of images, research, archives, and collaboration. The starting point of my work often lies in the personal discovery of a place, or detail within a place, that I am not yet familiar with. By taking photographs, collecting existing information, conducting fieldwork, and simply spending time in these locations, I first investigate my personal perception of the site to then draw a broader interpretation which finally forms the work. Recent sites of exploration include newly-built neighbourhoods (Vinex-wijken), Gravity Roads, apartment complexes, and a US army training area. While the process and elements of my work may initially appear analytical, the outcomes raise questions and propose reflections on the relationship to and our positioning within our surroundings. A reoccurring methodology is going through a great amount of documents/archive in order to end up with carefully picked out elements, that I then expand on again, which bring a surprising, often humorous element to the work. I aim to offer a perspective that triggers a dialogue about the spaces we inhabit and navigate daily—spaces we may never have consciously considered. I enjoy to share my curiosity and the excitement of not yet knowing but therefore discovering with those who encounter my work. My autonomous practice is inevitably carried by what I do parallel to it. Working in collaboration motivates and inspires me. This collaborative activity spans from exchanges with others in the research process of my works, over publishing and designing books with and for artists, to curating and facilitating exhibitions.