Monika Macdonald | Elis Hoffman: »In Absence | Fading«

About

Kehrer Galerie is delighted to open an exhibition with the Swedish photographers Monika Macdonald and Elis Hoffman. Macdonald’s series »In Absence« and Hoffman’s series »Fading« both revolve around questions of life, its evanescence and subsequently also death.

The photographs of »In Absence« portray women who all have one thing in common: their solitary search for belonging – to something or someone. This autobiographical account, which is also a psychological and intimate reflection, runs like a common thread throughout the images. The women are likeminded in their hesitation and uncertainty; in their longing, or yearning for some form of love. »In Absence« emanates from motherhood – without necessarily being set in a world of mothering.

The images in »Fading« were all created in small rural towns around Sweden – places Elis Hoffman had never traveled to before. By staying close to home, yet taking unfamiliar paths, he opens the door to chance. Equally, the subjects he photographs are people he has never met prior to this moment: strangers, yet they also make up the vital elements of a very personal journey – a soul searching walkabout.

Both artists work with muted colors. They explore the twilight, take a close look at the vulnerability of the portrayed people and still show moments of light and hope.

Monika Macdonald (b. 1969) and Elis Hoffman (b. 1979) both live and work in Stockholm, Sweden. Their works were part of solo and group shows, both nationally and internationally, at Fotografiska in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, Finland, and other institutions.