Kerstin Weiser impressed the jury with her series “Von Sandburg zu Sandburg”, in which she explores the playground as a designed space of experience and examines its distinctive architecture. Her attention is directed particularly towards playground equipment, that appears sculptural in nature, characterised by vibrant primary colours and unusual forms. In her artistic investigation, which began in Germany and continued in Japan, these structures serve as the starting point for a carefully conceived visual staging. Weiser invites people dressed in colour-coordinated clothing to climb onto the playground structures and photographs them in such a way that their bodies appear as extensions of the organically shaped objects. As a result, the structures are no longer perceived as functional play installations, but instead as surreal, autonomous forms. The use of harsh flash lighting further lends the photographed subjects an almost abstract, graphic, and two-dimensional quality. With a visual language that is both highly distinctive and strikingly powerful, “Von Sandburg zu Sandburg” challenges conventional ways of seeing through its unusual perspectives. Through the deliberate use of her camera, Weiser creates carefully staged images that allow the playground to be experienced simultaneously as both a tangible place and an abstract visual landscape.
