Guest Room:
Diana Poole

Diana Poole, art advisor and curator, has chosen to collaborate with Jessica Backhaus. Jessica is a visual artist and is regarded as one of the most distinguished voices in contemporary photography today. This instalment of Guest Room goes out at an unprecedented time with most of the world having experienced a life in lock-down that has radically changed how we think and live.

Jessica selected the following quote from a work by Joseph Beuys (1977), as the theme for this Guest Room: “Wer Nicht Denken Will Fliegt Raus” (Who is Unwilling to Think is Dismissed).

Jessica chose this theme before Covid-19, she found it radical and particularly current during these times of post-truth politics. Then the pandemic hit, and both she and Diana felt Beuys’ words more poignantly than ever. Diana began delving into links between the two artists’ ideologies, and found a unifying thread in how their art can be seen as a “conscious act”, inseparable from everyday life. This led to a desire to bring Jessica’s work into the curation. In the last two weeks alongside the Open Call, Jessica created a series of images responding to Joseph Beuys, made in confinement in Berlin.

Thank you to all artists who have shared their work during these unsettling times. I’m inspired by the depth of thinking that has gone into every submission, so much so that I have included a few artist statements throughout the curation. – Diana

Joseph Beuys, “Wer Nicht Denken Will Fliegt Raus (Who is Unwilling to Think is Dismissed)”, 1977

Selection

    • Kai-Uwe Gundlach, Looking At Things,Hamburg, DEU, 2019 | DER GREIF
      Kai-Uwe Gundlach, Looking At Things,Hamburg, DEU, 2019
    • Kai-Uwe Gundlach, In The Cage,Auckland, NZL, 2019 | DER GREIF
      Kai-Uwe Gundlach, In The Cage,Auckland, NZL, 2019
    • Jessica Backhaus, Key, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, Key, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Thirza Schaap, Suck, Cape Town, ZAF, 2018 | DER GREIF
      Thirza Schaap, Suck, Cape Town, ZAF, 2018
    • Joseph R. Webb, Zentih 1, Pennsylvania, USA, 2019 | DER GREIF
      Joseph R. Webb, Zentih 1, Pennsylvania, USA, 2019
    • Mircea Sorin Albutiu, how long do we have to wait?, Leiria, PRT, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Mircea Sorin Albutiu, how long do we have to wait?, Leiria, PRT, 2020
    • Abhishek Rajaram Khedekar, DAPOLI 04, Maharastra, IND, 2018 | DER GREIF
      Abhishek Rajaram Khedekar, DAPOLI 04, Maharastra, IND, 2018
    • Till Cremer, Untitled, from the series Da ist [There is], Laboratorium, Braunschweig, DEU, 1997/2019 | DER GREIF
      Till Cremer, Untitled, from the series Da ist [There is], Laboratorium, Braunschweig, DEU, 1997/2019
    • Jessica Backhaus, lemons, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, lemons, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Facundo Pires, set, Buenos Aires, ARG,2020 | DER GREIF
      Facundo Pires, set, Buenos Aires, ARG,2020
    • Simon Freund, Klasse Pitz, Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, DEU, 2018 | DER GREIF
      Simon Freund, Klasse Pitz, Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, DEU, 2018
    • Joseph R. Webb, Scrim, Oregon, USA, 2016 | DER GREIF
      Joseph R. Webb, Scrim, Oregon, USA, 2016
    • Alexis Vasilikos, A Sense of Space (3), Athens, GRC, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Alexis Vasilikos, A Sense of Space (3), Athens, GRC, 2020
    • Joseph R. Webb, Ice Flow, Pennsylvania, USA, 2015 | DER GREIF
      Joseph R. Webb, Ice Flow, Pennsylvania, USA, 2015
    • Laura A Noel, Styrofoam, Atlanta, GA, USA | DER GREIF
      Laura A Noel, Styrofoam, Atlanta, GA, USA
    • Jessica Backhaus, puzzle, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, puzzle, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Daniel John Bracken, The Fall, London, GBR, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Daniel John Bracken, The Fall, London, GBR, 2020
    • Kai-Uwe Gundlach, Watering, Grasse, FRA, 2018 | DER GREIF
      Kai-Uwe Gundlach, Watering, Grasse, FRA, 2018
    • Jessica Backhaus, butter, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, butter, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Jessica Backhaus, chairs, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, chairs, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Vasilis Nikolopoulos, Covid19: An update from Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NLD, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Vasilis Nikolopoulos, Covid19: An update from Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NLD, 2020
    • Melissa Boucher, Dessous, Aubervilliers, FRA, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Melissa Boucher, Dessous, Aubervilliers, FRA, 2020
    • Vasilis Nikolopoulos, Covid19: An update from Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NLD, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Vasilis Nikolopoulos, Covid19: An update from Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NLD, 2020
    • Jessica Backhaus, bread, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, bread, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Facundo Pires, nunca serás pan, Buenos Aires, ARG,2020 | DER GREIF
      Facundo Pires, nunca serás pan, Buenos Aires, ARG,2020
    • Robin Cracknell, Prussian Blue, London, GRB, 2016 | DER GREIF
      Robin Cracknell, Prussian Blue, London, GRB, 2016
    • Sam Hutchinson, Situation with porous foam, structure 3, Leeds, GBR, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Sam Hutchinson, Situation with porous foam, structure 3, Leeds, GBR, 2020
    • Thirza Schaap, Southeaster, Cape Town, ZAF, 2018 | DER GREIF
      Thirza Schaap, Southeaster, Cape Town, ZAF, 2018
    • Ulrike Hannemann, Lagocephalus laevigatus, Kodak Professional Ultra Endura N, cutting mat, Studio, DEU, 2016 | DER GREIF
      Ulrike Hannemann, Lagocephalus laevigatus, Kodak Professional Ultra Endura N, cutting mat, Studio, DEU, 2016
    • Jessica Backhaus, blue soap, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, blue soap, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Anastasia Davis, Untitled (fold), Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2019 | DER GREIF
      Anastasia Davis, Untitled (fold), Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2019
    • Kamilla Bryzgalova, Life of plants, Moscow, RUS, 2019 | DER GREIF
      Kamilla Bryzgalova, Life of plants, Moscow, RUS, 2019
    • Anders Siddhartha Toustrup Darre, Let me out, Copenhagen Botanical Garden, DNK | DER GREIF
      Anders Siddhartha Toustrup Darre, Let me out, Copenhagen Botanical Garden, DNK
    • Alexis Vasilikos, A Sense of Space (1), Lisbon, PRT, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Alexis Vasilikos, A Sense of Space (1), Lisbon, PRT, 2020
    • Peter Hauser, Zollikerberg, Zürich, CHE, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Peter Hauser, Zollikerberg, Zürich, CHE, 2020
    • Michael Kruger, AR N.London (St Therese), London, GBR, 2020 | DER GREIF
      Michael Kruger, AR N.London (St Therese), London, GBR, 2020
    • Louis De Belle, Cartographies 2, New York, USA | DER GREIF
      Louis De Belle, Cartographies 2, New York, USA
    • Jessica Backhaus, telephone, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’) | DER GREIF
      Jessica Backhaus, telephone, 2020 (from the series ‘Confinement in Berlin’)
    • Ulrike Hannemann, Mamiya Film Magazine, Setting 2, Studio, DEU, 2018 | DER GREIF
      Ulrike Hannemann, Mamiya Film Magazine, Setting 2, Studio, DEU, 2018
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Diana Poole

Diana Poole is a Zürich based advisor specialised in photographic art, running her consultancy business since 2013. She previously worked over ten years as director, curator and researcher for leading photography galleries in London, New York and Zürich. Diana helps clients develop collecting strategies. She advises on the acquisition and management of photographic art from the early 20th century through to Contemporary.

portrait_jessica_backhaus | DER GREIF
Jessica Backhaus

Jessica Backhaus was born in Cuxhaven, Germany in 1970 and grew up in an artistic family. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Paris, where she later studied from 1989-1992 Photography and Visual Communications. Here she met Gisèle Freund in 1992, who became her mentor. In 1995 her passion for photography drew her to New York, where she assisted photographers, pursued her own projects and lived until 2009. Jessica Backhaus is regarded as one of the most distinguished voices in contemporary photography in Germany today.