Oolalala - artist

Verena Andrea Prenner

Neunkirchen, Austria 1982

Verena Andrea Prenner

born on the 7th of May 1982 in Neunkirchen, Austria

Verena Andrea Prenner’s journey as a sociologist and artistic photographer began in the late 2000’s. Over the years, her photographic projects have delved into societal structures, cultural identities and marginalized groups, particularly across Europe, the Middle East and Central Africa.

Feeling constrained by the technicality of traditional photography, she sought to infuse her practice with elements of sociology. For her, a single discipline in this sense was too grounded to investigate the theoretical aspects of life at large.

“All the World’s a stage”.

And we see nothing alike. Prenner’s work explores how our perception is deeply influenced by the personal archives of our memory. To challenge this, she strives for the idleness of an observer, particularly through the use of masks and stages, the tools allowing her to examine society as a whole, rather than focusing on the individual. In her work, masks create a sense of alienation, transforming people into symbols of broader structures and figures. The costumes and settings may be staged, but so is the society they reflect.

Her work is a repertoire expanding to societal satire focusing on European identity, exploring colonial legacies and reflecting on the contemporary memory in Central Africa, examining displacement and conflict in Palestine with visual metaphors. Across, they function as a form of research rather than purely an aesthetic exercise.

Verena Andrea Prenner participated in solo and group exhibitions internationally in India, the USA, Great Britain, Spain, Malaysia, France, The Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Republic of the Congo, Serbia, Greece, Estonia, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Portugal and a few more.

In 2021 she received an Art Award from the State of Lower Austria for the artistic and cultural examination of human dignity and in 2023 again for Artistic Photography, in 2022 the International Media Creativity Award - Award of Excellence for her CAMPING book. Artworks of her can be found in the National Austrian Photo Collection, the Art Collection of the State of Lower Austria as well as Upper Austria, and in various private collections.

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Pink Fox and Sheeps (Austria)

year: 2008

size cm: h40 w40

price: €: ------