Ivo Mayr was born in the south of Germany in 1975. After completing school he initially commenced a science degree in geography at the University of Cologne before he decided to follow his passion for photography. He worked as a photography assistant in Cologne for one year and then went on to study photography at university of applied science in Dortmund (2000-2006). His work has been awarded several times internationally and is presented in single and group exhibitions in Germany and abroad.
Artist statement
In my artistic work I am interested in playing with the viewing habits of the observer. In my productions I put bizarre pictures into the viewing perspective which show people (mostly individuals) in absurd, funny poses in urban or rural environments. (The people portrayed are often not physically connected with the ground). Physical laws seem to be abandoned. Because of the irritation this causes the viewer to look closer in order to understand the picture.
The interest in the theme of anti-gravitation and the irritation it causes originated in 2005. I experimented with the rotation of pictures and noticed that the meaning of a picture could change entirely when rotated. I used this effect and took pictures of people in the public urban space with lots of concrete and spatial elements and let them take poses which seemed to disobey the laws of gravitation when they were rotated. (This series was called “Leichtkraft” [in English: “lightweight” ])
A further series form this group of work called “StadtLandFlucht” (there is no English translation) which shows floating people is about the mental state of having lost your roots and longing for home. The floating in this context means the loss of roots and the feeling of being in between and not belonging.
A further step away from the familiar is accomplished in the series “Passanten” (in English: “Passers-By”). This series was produced in 2007/2008 at Koblenz on the Rhine River as part of a sponsored project called “Stadtfotograf” (which aims to produce a photographic portrait of the town). I spoke to the local people on the street and asked them for an artistic portrait. I took their pictures as if they were separated from the ground, hanging on walls, trees or street lights. Like lost items that get placed where they were found so everyone can see them clearly. This new combination of places and people in architecture and surroundings is connected in a symbiotic narrative which therefore becomes an artistic production away from any realistic documentation of the city.
www.ivomayr.com
www.thefstopmag.com/blog
seems like a lot of photographers are levitating these days…what’s up?
a need to fly away…?