German Tina Bara and Italian Alba D'Urbano have worked together since 2000, creating works that deal with female identity, the body and personal history. This volume explores their combination of documentary strategies with performance-related image production, linking narrative and conceptual elements.
The photo book Lange Weile features 400 black-and-white photographs by Tina Bara, taken between 1983 and 1989 in East Berlin, the German Democratic Republic, and during her travels. Accompanied by subtitles, this artist's book also serves as a companion to a photo film. From a contemporary viewpoint, the artist reflects on her early work and the quest for feminine identity, embodying a subversive, melancholic rebellion against East Germany's dictatorship. The collection includes documentary images from a covert trip to Russia, forbidden shots at the VEB Buna chemical plant, and observations of punks and young rebels, interspersed with intimate portraits of friends and a 'photographic love story.' These works express a desire to escape a monotonous system that stifles individuality. Through her layered memories, the photographs create an intimate universe that evokes the atmosphere of a bygone society. The exploration of awakening, doubt, self-discovery, and the tension between political constraints and artistic expression resonates on a broader level, alongside her insights into photography's role in this journey. Tina Bara, born in 1962 in Kleinmachnow, former GDR, currently resides and works in Berlin and Leipzig, Germany.