The series is about experiencing scenes or objects from daily life in a transcendental way and juxtaposing them in tableaus that rise above their literal context to communicate the mystery and magic I see in the world, with its discord, harmony or the confluence of both.
I seek to provoke and push the viewer beyond a literal interpretation of a subject into the realm of emotion and perhaps understanding, by breaking up the ordinary limitation of the original mindset, leading to a new experience of the concept, individually formed by the viewer himself.
It’s a complex and multilayered examination of the subject matter, in which the visible reality is only a distortion of its actual aesthetic or vice versa. I like to create adult content which won’t be classified as such, because the particular components, such as sexual or political aspects, are subliminal and discreet with a latent or subconscious understanding.
The theme of solitude, which can but does not necessarily come along with being alone, and the fear of loneliness and death also play a major role in my work, where the viewer is confronted with their own dying by being either visually or figuratively confronted with the process of death and decay.
Each composition aims to challenge the viewer’s imagination by framing something that is usually overlooked in regards to its ambiguity and invites to alter, expand and individually complete the original compositional intent, by altering the framing literally or in the metaphorical sense. Each viewer will bring his own story to the image, leading to a unique experience of the concept and therewith the viewer expands the perceptive limits of what they feel about the world around them.
All photographs were shot with Leica camera which is my constant companion in my artistic daily life (Leica M9-P & Leica M Typ 240).
About Joelle Chmiel
Joelle Chmiel is a self-educated Swiss photographer with focus on street-photography and (self-)portraiture. She is a visual story-teller, seeking the extraordinary in daily life, that most of us would probably miss. Joelle was born (1982) and raised in Zürich, Switzerland, where she attended medical and dental school and worked as a doctor in the field of maxillofacial surgery before she decided to dedicate herself full-time to photography. In 2014 she got a Leica camera as a gift, which was love at first sight. That’s when her interest in photography became passion.
She was fortunate to attend a private workshop in Paris with Magnum photographer Patrick Zachmann, which she had the privilege meeting and presenting her work to. This encounter helped define her path as a photographer. She also studied with Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak and his Masterclass was an essential experience in her approach to photography. She has won several photography competitions, such as Monochrome Awards, Street Projections from Photowerk Berlin and London Photo Festival. Her photos have been chosen frequently as Editor’s Picks at Lensculture Photography Awards (Visual Story Telling, Art Photography and Emerging Talents Awards) and honorably mentioned by Neutral Density Photography Awards.
Her work has been exhibited on Kuhfürstendamm Berlin and at Harris & Hoole in Twickenham London. She has also published in different magazines such as Unstamatic and Visual Verse and featured by the editors of Art Limited.
