SITUATION #219

How does our relationship to the tangible object change when we no longer encounter photos in picture frames or photo albums, but as files on screens? How can ephemeral image data and associated screen-based communication practices be materialised? Is digital image content still dependent on physical forms such as the photo book at all, and if so, why?

The (online) exhibition Fleeting Media. Publishing Post-Photography (23.01–24.05.2021) at the Passage in the Fotobibliothek presents artistic publications that not only reflect the image practices and aesthetics of an increasingly networked society, but also its cultural, political and economic implications. Equally, the works on display playfully experiment with the changing visual vocabulary, multiple formats and distribution channels in the post-digital age ¬ be it via more classic print media such as book formats, postcards, zines and printable PDFs or via additional AR-apps and supporting algorithms. Through Fotomuseum Winterthur's experimental exhibition and research format SITUATIONS (2015-2021), numerous post-digital formats entered the photo library's photo book collection as well as the museum's ephemera collection, which were complemented by new acquisitions of works between 2017-2020.

Accompanying this exhibition, an online platform has been developed to provide more in-depth information on the publications as well as research material and an opportunity for exchange. Over the duration of the exhibition, two video formats on the works of Monica Alcazar-Duarte and Shaista Chishty will also be published here and on the YouTube channel of Fotomuseum Winterthur.

You can find the digital platform here: bit.ly/fleetingmedia