May 16 - June 28, 2008




Wohnmaschine is presenting our third solo exhibition featuring the work of American photographer Alec Soth (born in 1969 in Minneapolis) at Wohnmaschine. After the series SLEEPING BY THE MISSISSIPPI und NIAGARA, we now are showing DOG DAYS BOGOTÁ.

Because of the adoption process of their daughter in Bogotá, in 2002 Soth and his wife spent two months in the Colombian capital. That was two months longer than planned, which is why Soth began taking photographs of the city, its residents, and the many stray dogs that mark the cityscape. "I began making my own book for Carmen. In photographing the city of her birth, I hope I’ve described some of the beauty in this hard place."

The photographs from Bogotá combine portraits, interiors, and landscapes, as well as monumental street shots. As a series they are the most personal work of the artist up until now, since in these shots, taken with a mid-sized camera, he tried to combine to various indications and signs of his daughter’s identity. Many of the photographs were taken on Cerro de Monserrate, a mountain climbed each day by countless pilgrims to show their gratitude to El Señor Caido for his blessings. The book Dog Days Bogotá, published by Steidl Verlag in 2007, is for Soth a product of all this good will and at the same time a thanks to many Colombian friends and acquaintances.

Parallel to the exhibition at Wohnmaschine, the series FASHION MAGAZINE, PARIS/MINNESOTA is on view at C/O Berlin (May 16 to July 13, 2008).

Soth’s works are included in many prominent collections: Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Alec Soth is associate photographer at Magnum Photos.

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Wohnmaschine
Friedrich Loock
Tucholskystr. 35
10117 Berlin
tel: +49 30 3087 2015
fax: +49 30 3087 2016

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