Investigations about pictures and their perceptions

Thora Kraft was born in Hoya in 1967. She lives and works in Calberlah, between Hannover and Berlin. From 1987 to 1996 she studied Fine Arts at Universities of Arts in Braunschweig / Germany and in Barcelona /Spain with Prof. John Armleder and others. From 1996 to 1997 she had masterclasses. In 2014 she won the  art prize of the Kunstverein Wolfsburg and in the same year received a residence scholarship for the Künstlerhaus Salzwedel. In 2015 and 2017 she was nominated for the art prize of the artfederation "Lüneburgische Landschaft". Her artwork is a show of investigations about pictures and their perceptions. Therefore she puts light upon the public and verbatim/ literally the backgrounds of presentations.

Thora Kraft's short  film "covering myself"

Can you share a bit about how you got started in photography?

Originally I am a painter. In the course of this I consider significant the sphere around the actual picture. Because I refuse producing a detached something just thrown undirected into the crowd. Hence I studied from the beginning the conditions for paintings,, subsequent artworks in general. For this purpose I use the photo camera. These explorations with the camera set up / built up some ongoing series:


- light on pictures “spot on the unexposed”

- The meaning and surroundings of studios "Refuge for the unexposed/ studios / Home-Stories "

- The setting about an exhibition "Looking at the exhibition / Looking at the public…/"

Thora Kraft's short  film "covering myself"

Describe what you are trying to communicate with your photos to your viewers?

I make use of photography in order to explore what is between pictures and people and people. About discoveries, disguises and camouflages in general. All findings are essential and they flow in my next piece. If you see into a picture like on a stage, my photos show you the space behind, above, beyond, in front of. I like to tell about the hidden space behind the curtain, the unseen area backstage without spotting them on stage. To let under-cover sometimes means to show respect. There are some worlds; they have to be preserved invisible. I want to tell about these worlds like the astronomers tell about planet nine.

Where do you find inspiration for your photography?

The inspiration for my photos I find among people. The fathomless and at the same time vanishingly small worlds in between. 

Thora Kraft's short  film "covering myself"

You have done some interesting photographic series. Which one would you say have been the most significant for you in your career so far?

My pieces of art are like pieces of puzzle about the seen and the unseen, the seeking and the hiding. My work is about sharing my way of researches to the public.

Do you have any advice for a new photographer starting out?

My advice for a new photographer: Be surprised. Do not take anything for granted. The most is invisible. The invisible deserves your attentiveness and your respect.

What would be your dream creative project?

My dream creative project would be having a studio inside the huge space of a jungle. Maybe I would explore the space between two leaves. Maybe I would paint doorways to the greens.