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Yours, KOW

Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018

mixed media

Authenticity has always been a central question in discussions concerning society. It is continuing to gain importance with the emergence of new phenomena such as fake news, alternative facts and instant online control possibilities. However, our definition of an authentic being or an authentic object and our understanding of how the two relate to each other tend to differ, often in line with cultural and geographical variance despite our global connections.

The photographic element of this multidisciplinary work consists of portraits in Albania and figurative fake-stills of brand imitations and counterfeit luxury out of the studio. They are what we call an imitation, a fake or a bootleg. How is a fake defined in contemporary society ? And what reasons do people have to interact with these objects? Can they be judged by their materiality or does their presence as imitations confine them to a shallow world of the pseudo-luxury?

As a young woman, born and raised in Germany with Albanian origin, reflection on representation and self image and their cultural differences have always played a major role in my life. Due to the fact that I will never genuinely be part of either the German or the Albanian society, I found my voice in the meta-position of an observer. The question of whether or not, especially in the post-communistic context of Albania, visual and sexual self-determination as well as femininity are empowering young women globally plays a key role in this body of work. The communist cry for ‘necessity’ and the feminist cry for ‘naturalness’ contrast with the human desire for experimentation, self- expression and speculation.

Since we are all products of a multi-faceted mesh of influences, what is it that makes us and the objects we are related to authentic ?

Anna Ehrenstein, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Dea and Teuta, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Future claws, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Western Girl, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Ola, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, High bumpa, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Soni, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Piece of cake, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Bona and Milla, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Working Class Hero, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Fake Fake, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm
Anna Ehrenstein, Kejsi, 2017, Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2013–2018, photographic print, 60 x 75 cm

edition of Photographic Prints 60 x 75 cm

video consisting of a two monitor installation, 7:22 min, looped

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Anna Ehrenstein

Anna Ehrenstein works in transdisciplinary artistic practice with an emphasis on research and mediation. She is using print, video, installation, social moments or sculpture to reverberate the intersections and divergences of high and low cultures and their socio-economic and bio-political constitutions. Born in Germany with Albanian heritage and raised between the two cultures, realities and reflections around migration-related visual culture, diasporic narrations, networked images and the class hierarchy of pixels form main foci due to her own intercultural experiences.

She has been awarded with different prizes such as the Talent Award of c/o Berlin in 2020, the Prix Prictet, the NRW.BANK Kunstpreis, the Förderpreis KHM in 2019, the Fondation des Treilles in 2018 and her first ever prize being the Landskrona Portfolio Price in 2017. She has held solo exhibitions at Stadtgalerie, Saarbrücken (2022), Tools for Conviviality, c/o Berlin (2021), Francisco Carolinum, Linz (2021), Gold & Beton, Cologne (2020). Her work has been included in exhibitions at international institutions such as Kunstmuseum Wolgsburg (2022), Kunsthalle Osnabrpck (2022), 6th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg (2022), MgbK, Leipzig (2019), Fotomuseum Winterthur (2019), Museum Folkwang, Essen (2018).



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