Susanne Friedel

About Me

My interest in photography developed during my time in the Middle-East, a region of ongoing media coverage due to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. One of the reasons why I went there, was that I wanted to see with my own eyes how „it really was“. During my stay I learned at lot about the conflict and even more about Israeli society. Back in Germany I continued my studies in sociology, cultural anthropology and political sciences becoming more and more aware of the specific power of images. Writing my final thesis on the construction of female identity in the Israeli army finally made me understand the huge influence images do have on society.

After my academic career I decided to study photography at Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin focussing on social and political issues. My graduate project about the working conditions in the globalized garment industry, beyond fashion, has been exhibited throughout Germany and is part of the exhibition „Fast Fashion“ curated by the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg with shows in Germany, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Switzerland.

I have portrayed female Ethiopian construction workers in a classical male-dominated domain. With the aim to show the natural variety of the female sex, which recently is undergoing a process of standardization thanks to porno industry and photo editing, I have photographed womens’ vulvas. I documented the humanitarian crisis on the Central Mediterranean for SOS MEDITERRANEE, a civic organisation saving lives at sea onboard their rescue ship Aquarius.

I have enjoyed working with clients such as LaPresse, Weser-Kurier, SOS MEDITERRANEE, Mobile Beratung gegen Rechtsextremismus Berlin (MBR), INKOTA and others.

 

Exhibitions

  • 2024 „Łataj, ceruj! Długie życie ubrań“ (Group Show) at ZAMEK Culture Centre Poznań (PL)
  • 2020 „Sauver, protéger, témoigner“ (Group Show) at Le Jardin des Personnalités, Honfleur (F)
  • 2019-2021 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at Museum Europäischer Kulturen Berlin
  • 2019 „Sauver, protéger, témoigner“ (Group Show) at Festival d'Avignon (F)
  • 2018 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum – Kulturen der Welt, Cologne
  • 2018 „analog“ (Group Show) at Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin, part of 8. European Month of Photography Berlin
  • 2018 „Rescued/Gerettet“ (Group Show) at Malzfabrik, Berlin
  • 2017 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at Rmit Gallery, Melbourne (AUS)
  • 2017 „Fast Fashion" (Group Show) at Cultural Center Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem, Jakarta (IDN)
  • 2016 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at University of the Philippines, Manila (PHL)
  • 2016 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at Textilmuseum St.Gallen (CH)
  • 2016 „Zu Vermessen. Körper, Mode, Arbeit" (Group Show) at Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte, Potsdam
  • 2016 „reality.check“ (Group Show) at Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin
  • 2015 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
  • 2015 „Fast Fashion“ (Group Show) at Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg
  • 2014 „Mensch und Arbeit“ (Group Show) at Museum Zürndorfer Wehrturm, Cologne
  • 2014 „beyond fashion“ at Frauenmuseum, Bonn
  • 2013 „beyond fashion“ at Galerie futura, Berlin
  • 2013 „Kunst im Untergrund - Nach der Arbeit“ (Group Show) at various metro-stations in Berlin
  • 2013 „Fashion Victims“ at Werkstadt e.V., Berlin
  • 2012 „In Search Of“ (Group Show) at Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin, part of 5. European Month of Photography Berlin
  • 2011 „Traum“ (Group Show) at Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin
  • 2010 „Watching You, Watching Me“ (Group Show) at Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin, part of 4. European Month of Photography Berlin
  • 2010 „Watching You Watching Me“ (Group Show) at 1. Addis Fotofest 2010, Addis Ababa (ET)

Awards

  • 2013 nGbK Art on the Underground Award, winner
  • 2012 Saarland Chamber of Employment "Women - Working environments" Award, shortlisted

Selected Publications

  • „SOS MEDITERANEE. L’odyssée de’l Aquarius", Museo Éditions (Ed.), 2018, pp. 24, 60, 150.
  • „Á la rescousse des naufragés" in: lapresse+, 08./09.07.2017.
  • „Sie nannten mich Schwester", in: Weser Kurier, 24.12.2016, pp. 9, 10,11, 14.
  • „beyond fashion“, in: Der Freitag, 03.07.2013, https://www.freitag.de/autoren/juloeffl/jenseits-der-mode.
  • „Workers“, in: Von Trommlern und Helfern. Beiträge zu einer nicht-rassistischen entwicklungspolitischen Bildungs- und Projektarbeit, Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag (BER.) (Ed.), 2013.
  • „No Gender No Trouble“, in: Berliner Zustände 2010, Mobile Beratung gegen Rechtsextremismus (MBR) und Antifaschistisches Pressearchiv und Bildungszentrum (Apabiz) (Ed.), 2011, pp. 4-7, 19, 21, 30, 33, 45, 52f.
  • „Workers“, in: Diesseits von Afrika, Hinterland #15, 2010, pp. 2, 84f, 115.
  • „Feminisierte Soldatinnen. Weiblichkeit und Militär in Israel“, in: Martina Thiele u.a. (Ed.): Medien – Krieg – Geschlecht. Affirmationen und Irritationen sozialer Ordnungen, Wiesbaden 2010, pp. 103-118.