Covid -19: 'Frisky is Risky'

I have a new companion, he is omnipresent. And yet, I am not even sure if he is where I am, or how many times he was within my range. He is so small, in fact he is super tiny. I cannot see him, nor can I evaluate how to avoid his powerful grip.

Corona is his name. Nobody wants him, but HE finds his way in. He turned up out of nowhere and avalanched the planet into lockdown. Countless households in isolation. He made us change our human ties. Separation from one and all - including those we love, unless we are locked in together. So, what about being single? What about those who have to learn to be their own best friend?

The flat is my oyster. Week one, week two, week three, cabin fever from week four. Zoom meetings, House Parties, WhatsApp calls, a new way of being. Underneath all, I have to admit: “I’m lonely and bored - what a dangerous combination.”

Want to find out what what I did at Easter during lockdown? Don’t be afraid, just click that link.

Corona Diary: Frisky is Risky

Covid-19: 'Subject To Availability'

The official lockdown period in London started on 23rd of March, a little later than elsewhere in Europe. Nonetheless, first signs of public life’s shutdown already appeared one week earlier. There was a lot of reluctance at first. ‘Keep Calm & Drink Tea’, as they say over here in the UK, despite ‘fears of Corona’.

As I was stopped from going out, I learned to live with what surrounds me. No more coffee shops? Fine, I’ll brew my own. Known to be a tea drinker, I refuse to be threatened by the consequences of home isolation. I’ll intend to raise my own morale by celebrating each cuppa: “Cheers to Corona!”

Since then I consumed more teabags than I can document. I am counting the days, too, and the weeks, and my emotions. Each week seemingly differs, each day comes and goes, each drink calms; by now I need to stock up! ‘Here’s to Corona!’

Link to 15 weeks of tea. The project closed on 4th July due to ease of lockdown restrictions. Time for ice cream now…

Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year

Proud announcement: the image ‘Mbaye’ has been shortlisted for the annual Pink Lady® Food Photographer competition. It was selected for the ‘Food for Sale’ category.

Unfortunately, due to the Corona virus outbreak, the exhibition, which would have opened on 28th April, has been canceled. Instead there will be an Online Awards Evening, presented by Alex James, which you can watch on Facebook or YouTube. It starts at 8pm (BST).

Info about the image: Mbaye Babacar Cissé is employed in the small rice mill in the Village de N’Diaye. Although he started working here only 4 month ago, he has already been promoted from being an ordinary worker to becoming the supervisor of the machine. Even though he is physically separated from his wife and young child, he loves his new occupation and wishes to make enough money to support his family back home (Senegal 2015).

Covid-19: 'Until Further Notice'

London, March 2020: Already alarmed but still within my old set of shopping routines, I took notice of some coffee shops in my neighborhood closing their doors. First just a few, than finally all of them, and the restaurants, pubs and bars, cinemas and theatres. Bewildered and yet fascinated I feared this temporary measure to be marking the end of the world as we know it. 

Big chains, small social enterprises, long established businesses, young and trendy meeting points: all gone. I gazed through their shop front windows. Each seat is ‘standing’ for a person, no longer sitting there. Each table marks a social network, forced into abandonment. No happy hour, no special deal today, tomorrow, or even the week after.

My occasional shopping trips no longer followed any routine; I planned a different tour each time in order to visit a new and further located supermarket. Equipped with shopping bag and camera I penetrated through the glass barriers, hunting for chairs whilst longing for socialising. Now we are half way through April. Still hungry for a smiling face and comforting time out, I am wondering: what is going to happen to society?

We shall wait for the impact - whilst holding on to sanity from home.

Please take a look at the situation: www.astridschulz.com/until-further-notice/

Pop-Up show in Greenwich: 19.12.19 until the NEW YEAR

Initiated by the London Independent Photographers (LIP), there will be a surprise exhibition the horizon. This spontaneous pop-up show is called into existence during our notorious Christmas party. The Greenwich branch members are invited to bring a framed image, taken in recent years and ready to be displayed for fun and entertainment. So, If you happen to be in Greenwich around the Christmas period, please pop in.

LIP Pop-Up show: 19.12.19 - 15.01.20

Venue: The Greenwich Gallery at Linear House, Peyton Place, London SE10 8RS 

Opening times: Mo - Fri, 9am - 5pm

Rencontres Photographiques / Albert Kahn Museum Paris: 08-09.11.19

With great pleasure I would like to announce that my project ‘100 Faces of Viet Nam’ has been selected for the portfolio reviews in Boulogne-Billancourt.

This annual photographic event is organised by the Friends of the Albert-Kahn Museum during the most important week of photography in Paris. Selected photographers are receiving the opportunity for an individual appointment with photography experts such as festival directors, photo editors, iconographers, foundations, journalists, galleries, art critics, collectors, curators, art centres, etc.

My personal aims for this promising event include international visibility for this body of work, getting new opportunities such as an exhibition or participation at a festival and gathering professional advice for the publication of a photo book. Exciting times ahead!

Shortlisted for the Royal Photography Society / IPE 162

The RPS has announced the names of 166 International Photographers, which are shortlisted for their 162th International Photography Exhibition. With joy and gratitude I would like to announce that images from the series ‘100 Faces of Vietnam’ are among those successful entries.  

1370 photographers from 62 countries have participated in this competition. Being selected is a wonderful achievement and encourages me to carry on, telling stories through my lens and reflecting the concerns of the modern world.

The IPE 162 is a touring exhibition and opens at RPS House, Bristol, in 2020. The finalists are going to be announced this coming November. Please keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Exhibition's History:

The International Photography Exhibition (formerly the International Print Exhibition) has been held almost every year since 1854 - the year after The RPS was founded. It is the world's longest running photographic exhibition. In the early years, the IPE included work from some of the world's most eminent photographers, including Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, Edward Steichen and others. 

Special thanks to theprintspace for their continued support of the IPE and for printing the images for the final selection round.

'London Independent Photography' 12th Greenwich Annual, 17 - 30.06.19

For the 12th time, members of the London Independent Photographers (LIP) Greenwich Satellite group is showcasing examples of their work at the Greenwich Gallery.

For this exhibition I choose two images form an exciting project I created in 2017-18. The series ‘Blindspots’ was shot during a personal development course: the work explores the decisions and opinions we created as children during painful incidents. Later in life and hidden from our view, we are still ruled by self-limiting believes such as: 'I’m stupid, I can't do it' or 'I’m alone, I don’t belong'. The photo session was aiming to shine light into our blind spots; the process of being photographed created space for self-reflection.

Feel free to explore your own blindspots by joining me in the gallery during the opening event. Refreshments will be served.

Private View: Thursday, 20th June, 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Venue: The Greenwich Gallery at Linear House, Peyton Place, London SE10 8RS 

Opening times: Mo - Fri, 9am - 5pm / Sat - Sun, 12pm - 4pm

There will also be a special critics evening: Thursday, 27th June, 6.30 - 8.30pm

Journey to Bolivia 2019 →

Are you wondering - what am I doing in Bolivia?

Well, first of all, I have Family here. I found out in 2014 via social media, that I have a lovely Canadian cousin who has lived in Bolivia for over 40 years. He and his wife tracked me down in London, we met for the first time for dinner, and the couple invited me warmly to come for a visit. It took me 5 years, almost to the date, but now I went.
Besides getting to know this new exciting branch of my family, I also dedicated this journey to photographing another chapter for my food series: ‘Made in Bolivia’. Mainly photographed in La Paz where I stayed most of the time, but also in Potosi and in the tropical town Caranavi. And yes, I tried all of the dishes I took pictures of! in case you want to know what peole eat over here, just ask.

Read the full report on my JOURNEY TO BOLIVIA here.

'London Independent Photography' 11th Greenwich Annual Exhibition, 03 - 17.06.1 →

As every year, members of the London Independent Photography Greenwich group are showcasing some of their work at the Greenwich Gallery.

I am going to present two images from the 'Holi' series, which was taken over 3 different years at the Hare Krishna Temple near Watford. The festival is traditionally celebrated in India at Spring (also known as the festival of Colours). Fascinated by the joyful transformation after festival goes throw colour pigments at one another, I decided to create a pop up studio and invited the temple visitors to have a portrait taken. Have a look at 'Holi' on my website.

Private View: Thursday, 07th June, 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Venue: The Greenwich Gallery at Linear House, Peyton Place, London SE10 8RS 

Opening times: Mo - Fri, 9am - 5pm / Sat - Sun, 12pm - 4pm

There will also be a special critics evening: Thursday, 14th June, 6.30 - 8.30pm

'fLIP Magazine No39', Spring Issue 2018

A new fLIP magazine is on the horizon. This year’s Spring issue carries the title 'Memories' and it includes images from my portrait series with the same title.

‘Memories’ is inspired by a quote in a movie by David Lynch ('The Straight Story'): "The worst thing of being old is remembering being young."  It started as a personal project in 2016 with an image of Daphne Davis, which has been nominated and exhibited numerous times in 2017 (including at the ‘BJP Portrait of Britain’ exhibition). The image above is of Nick Hague, taken whilst remembering his baby granddaughter as she was bathed in the kitchen sink.

fLIP is an independent magazine, which is published three times per year by the London Independent Photographers (LIP). It is available at specialized stores across London, including the Tate Modern Bookshop, National Portrait, Serpentine Gallery Bookshop, Whitechapel Gallery Bookshop and many more.

‘Blind Spots’, KOLGA Award Nomination & Photo Festival, 04.05.18

Great news: my latest portrait project with the title 'Blind Spots' has been nominated to be among the best photo projects created in 2017 and is shortlisted for the KOLGA AWARD 2018 in the conceptual photography category!!! Twelve images from this series will be on display during the KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO Festival from 5th - 11th May.

Kolga Tbilisi Photo 2018 is exceptional for the number of powerful photography projects covering a wide range of topics and taken by photographers from around the world.

Venue for the award exhibition: Art Arena, Dodo Abashidze Street 10, Tbilisi, Georgia
Opening event: Friday, 4th May 2017 from 8pm

About 'Blind Spots':
For this project the sitters are guided back into childhood memories and then photographed whilst remembering a challenging situation. In such moments children create negative opinions about themselves and the world such as 'I am worthless', life is unfair' or 'nobody loves me'. Later in life we are often unaware of the origin of such self-limiting believes; yet we hold on to them and carry them as a lifelong burden. All of us have certain blind spots, areas of endeavor or personal issues that we ignore because of the painful doubts or feelings of futility that they arouse.
The final result is aiming to shine light into our hidden viewpoints; the process of photographing the upcoming emotions created space for self-reflection.

'People of the City', Photo Exhibition, 13.02.18

Proud announcement: with support of the Meta House, a German-Cambodian cultural centre, and the Goethe Institute we are going to re-exhibit a selection of my images of people, living in the capital city of Cambodia.

In case you are in Phnom Penh, please come to the opening on 16th March 2018, 6pm - 10pm
Venue: Meta House, 37 Samdach Sothearos Blvd (3), Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The photos in this show are taken for chapter 4 in Dr. Michael Waibel’s latest photo book ‘Phnom Penh: CAPITAL CITY’. In this chapter, a variety of residents have been asked to comment on their impressions and relationships to the city they call home. I wanted to take a closer look behind the facade and explore how people use their personal space. The outcome is a collection of enticing insights into homes and workplaces spanning rich and poor, younger and older generations, migrants and those who have lived there all their lives and helped shaping the city. In case you are not in Cambodia, here is an image preview.

The book 'Phnom Penh CAPITAL CITY' is available on Amazon (ISBN: 9-789924 915102)

‘London Independent Photography’s 29th Annual Exhibition’: 06.12 - 12.12.17

* LIP (London Independent Photography) is annually celebrating the best work of its members to be shared with a wider public audience. A series of talks and events will feature throughout the exhibition period, with leading figures from the photographic world including: Dewi Lewis (photo book publisher); Simon Roberts (landscape photographer with an emphasis on human geography); Tanya Houghton, presenting her project ‘A Migrant’s Tale’; a panel discussion on 'The Street Today', and more.

The image is from the Madonna triptych, created in 2016 for the ICONIC exhibition in Palermo.  It is inspired by Madonna's video for her song 'Prayers'.

Venue: Old Truman Brewery, Unit 11, Dray Walk, London E1 6QL (located at street level, off Brick Lane [MAP])
Opening times:  Wed - Sun, 11am - 6pm; Mon 11am - 5pm; Tue 11am - 3pm

Please visit me: I am going to sit in the gallery on 7th December from 5pm - 7pm, followed by the talk of social photographer Tanya Houghton from 7pm (the talk costs £10, you can book here)

‘Portrait of Britain’, A Nationwide Exhibition, September 2017

The magazine 'British Journal of Photography' is annually organizing a competition and exhibition, which showcases the many faces of modern Britain. In partnership with JCDecaux, an out-of-home advertising company, this is thebiggest public outdoor showcase of contemporary photography.

I am trilled to announce that one on my images is among the 100 selected portraits. Throughout September those images will be displayed on high streets, roadsides and in transport hubs, visible to an audience of millions.

About the image 'Memories': 96 year old Daphne Davis has lived in the same house in Edgware since 1954, the year she got married. Daphne remarks that she hasn't had a professional portrait taken before in her lifetime, except for her wedding photograph.

The image is from the project 'Once upon a Time', which is inspired by a quote from the movie 'The Straight Story' by David Lynch: "The worst thing about being old is remembering what it was being young". However, when I ask my sitters about the past, what comes up is the stories they cherish, the people they most love and the magical places they visited.

The series is still in development, more to come soon.

'London Independent Photographers' 10th Greenwich Annual Exhibition, 14.08 - 27.08.17

As every year, the members of the Greenwich group of LIP are showcasing their work at Greenwich Gallery.

For this years exhibition I have chosen on of my favorite images from my work in Vietnam. It was created for a book commission on Hanoi City. The picture is a portrait of 25 year old ‘Le Dinh Hung’; he is running his own motorbike workshop in Ba Dinh District. Hung knows everything about his trade and claims he can build any type of custom made motorbikes on request.

The opening event: Thursday, 17th August, 6.30pm - 8.30pm
Venue: The Greenwich Gallery at 
Linear House, Peyton Place, London SE10 8RS
 

Opening times: Mo - Fri, 9am - 5pm / Sat - Sun, 12pm - 4pm

There will also be a special critics evening: Thursday, 24th August, 6.30-8.30pm 

'fLIP Magazine' no 37, Summer Issue 2017

A new fLIP magazine came out. Fresh from the printer, this years Summer issue carries the title 'Storytelling'. Four of my images from the series '100 Faces of Viet Nam' are included, telling the story of 4 young people from Hanoi, Hue and Hoi An.

About the pictures: In the years from 2013 to 2016 I was commissioned to take photographs of people in various cities of Viet Nam. In each place I visited around 30 people in their homes or at work and asked them about their life. The images are forming one chapter in four books, which otherwise documents the urban developments of Vietnam's fast growing cities - in between ancient traditions & modernity. If you want to find out more about the project or the books, please get in touch.

fLIP is an independent magazine, which is published three times per year by the London Independent Photographers (LIP). It is available at various stockists across London, including the Tate Modern Bookshop, National Portrait, Serpentine Gallery Bookshop, Whitechapel Gallery Bookshop and many more.

'Astrid Schulz Costume Design' launched a new website

I would like to welcome you to my brand new website! Over the last years I have grown and so has my portfolio and experience. It was time to create a new 'shop window' that reflects that. And here it is - please visit astridschulzcostume.work

I hope you will agree with me: the new site is easier to navigate and ultimately much more fun. And finally, it is mobile friendly :) Please test it for me and let me know if there is anything that still needs improving. 

As I am in the process of renewal, I will do the same with my photography website in the coming month. Watch this space and come back for more!


PS: It has been quite a journey up to this point. Lots of memories came up whilst digging out the wonderful projects throughout my creative history which are featured on my new costume site. I would like to thank those who worked with me and I wish plenty more opportunities will come up for all of us.

'100 Faces of Viet Nam (2)', KOLGA Award nomination & Photo Festival, 05 - 13.05.17

I am trilled to announce the outcome of the Kolga Award in 2017: Various images of mine have been nominated to be among the best projects; they will be exhibited during the KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO Festival and celebrated at the opening event on 5th May.

This year the jury went for another selection of 10 images from my documentary series '100 Faces of Viet Nam'. The images were taken from 2013 - 2016 and demonstrate scenes of life and work in the cities of Vietnam.

Another nomination went in favor of the portrait 'Mbaye' from the series 'Made in Senegal' in the category 'One Shot'. This body of work is depicting small scale food producers; it was created during my artist residency in Saint Lewis, Senegal.

However, I am particularly proud about the nomination of 'Daphne' (from the series 'Once upon a Time'). This is a brand new project, dealing with memories on how it felt to be young.

Venue for the award exhibition: 14 Kostava Street, Art-space at the Hippodrome Park, Tamarashvili Str.13, Tbilisi, Georgia
Opening event: 5th May 2017 at 8pm
Professional week: 5th - 11th May 2017

For further information about the festival please click here: https://www.kolga.ge