Protection, by Anna Anders

The exhibition Protection by Anna Anders shows artworks that deal with the theme of protection. She uses photographs and video artworks in situations where people find themselves in unsafe threatening circumstances, or in situations where they realize they should be protecting themselves. By juxtaposing familiar protection, familiar because it has been fashionably and stylishly changed and thus become the everyday norm, with a situation of defenselessness and the search for protection, she sensitively opens up a debate, a discussion about our cultural approach to threat and protection.

Protection I

2018/19. photo series

55,0 x 32,2 cm, fine art print on Hahnemühle paper

This portrait series shows construction workers and street vendors in Bangkok. By wearing protective clothing and masking their faces, these people working under harsh conditions protect themselves from injury, strong sun, dust and air pollution. In doing so, they often create fascinating combinations of colors and patterns.

Protection II 

2020, Photo series
55,0 x 32,2 cm, fine art print on Hahnemühle paper

The portrait series was taken from 04 to 08 March 2020 on the Pitztal Glacier in the Austrian Tyrol. The skiers and snowboarders in their mostly brightly colored clothing protect themselves with helmets, goggles, scarves and masks from injuries and sun, from cold, wind and snow. Their fashionable-futuristic look moves between individual design and conformity and features interesting variations.

The Covid 19 pandemic seemed far at the beginning of March 2020, although it was already raging very close in Italy. A few days later, the lockdown also took place in Austria and Germany. Now we wear masks to protect ourselves from viral infection.

RASENDER STILLSTAND - A nighttime ride through beginnings of the Corona Crisis.

2021, 4K video, 2 channel video installation.
Length: 8:12 min (large flat screen monitor 48" to 55") and 41:51 min (small digital photo frame 9") with news from January (11:53 min) and February (29:58 min), 2020.

A wall-mounted flat screen, i.e. the "frosted screen", becomes the windshield of a car that seems to be driving through heavy rainy weather (=tears) in the dark of the night. At regular intervals, the windshield wipers clean the (monitor) window like the blink of an eye. From the car radio one hears reports about the first two months of the Corona Pandemic, i.e. January and February 2020.

The Artworks are available in ACI-Shop