Mercredi 04 Janvier 2017 11:01:50 par Sophie Pouzeratte dans Expositions

The Woman Who Never Existed by Anja Niemi was inspired by the words of the pioneering Italian actress Eleonora Duse. Eleonora worked the international theatre stage alongside Sara Bernhardt in the early 20th century. In contrast to Bernhardt's outgoing personality, Duse was introverted and private, rarely giving interviews. She once famously told a pushy New York journalist, that ‘away from the stage I do not exist.’
Niemi takes on the role of a fictional character visualized after reading Eleonora’s words. The Woman Who Never Existed tells the story of an actress who only exists in front of an audience, when no one is looking she starts to disappear.

The Stage © Anja Niemi - The Little Black Gallery
 

In the same way as before Niemi works alone. Photographing, staging and acting out the characters in all of her photographs.
The Woman Who Never Existed is premiering at Photofairs San Francisco (27-29 January 2017), followed by exhibitions at Shoot Gallery in Oslo (9 March - 30 April), Galerie Photo 12 in Paris (16 March - 22 April); and The Little Black Gallery in London (4 - 27 May).

The Bedroom © Anja Niemi - The Little Black Gallery