German Photography Now – Emotion, Drama and Narration

As part of the international exhibition series PHOTOSPECTRUM INT, the group exhibition German Photography Now – Emotion, Drama and Narration at Jinsun Gallery brings together three contemporary German artists who explore the emotional and narrative potential of photography. The exhibition positions photography not merely as documentation, but as a medium for conceptual and performative expression.

The show presents a new photograph-oriented approach from Germany—a perspective on a photographic language that emerges through diverse practices and media. Each artist contributes a distinct lens to this theme.

In her works, Nadja Verena Marcin navigates the intersections of identity, gender roles, and cultural mythologies through highly staged, symbol-laden images. Across photography and video, she constructs narratives that reveal the performative nature of social norms while subverting familiar archetypes with irony and critical distance. Eve (2005) confronts biblical symbolism to open a space of ambiguity, reclaiming female agency through an assertive gaze. No Country (2009) stages pseudo-erotic, nationalistic tableaux that dissolve into satire, exposing the hollowness of romantic and political fantasies. Spaghetta (2006) reimagines the Last Supper with unsettling uniformity and grotesque consumption, parodying ideals of beauty and the commodification of femininity. Hotel (2010) transforms a service-driven microcosm into a surrealist performance that critiques Western society’s obsession with success, identity, and surface appearances. Across these works, Marcin examines how constructed environments — whether sacred, paradisiacal, domestic, or institutional — shape human behavior and self-image, inviting viewers to reflect on the deeper psychological and cultural forces at play beneath polished façades.

The exhibition is curated by Sun-Jung Kim and features works by Nadja Verena Marcin, Philipp Schumacher and Jessica Zaydan. It is sponsored by the Goethe‑Institut Korea.