Date: 25.05.2018 – 21.06.2018
Venue: AKA Tattoo
Time: 12.00 – 19.00, Tuesday to Sunday
Layered Voyeurism is the debut solo photography exhibition from filmmaker Nehemias Colindres and is curated by LMW. The work is centred loosely around a voyeuristic approach, with Nehemias documenting his environment and people in a way that somehow captures intimacy with a sense of distance and detachment.
Los Angeles born and raised, Nehemias came to Berlin in 2011. He’s a filmmaker first and foremost, having studied film at Brooks Institute of Photography. During his time there he wrote and directed Jornada Al Norte, which was an official selection for both The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and The Silverlake Film Festival.
Most recently, he finished a short film, JUNG, which gives insight to the Turkish youth culture of Berlin. It was awarded with a Special Jury mention at Huesca Film Festival and also selected for main competition at Odense Film Festival as well as Interfilm Festival, and his latest film Steve explores the early stages of a person coming out as transgender.
Photography has been a long-held passion of Nehemias, and Layered Voyeurism exudes an ability to transfer his keen eye and approach between mediums. LOLA spoke with Nehemias to learn more about the exhibition came to life.
Hi Nehemias, is this your first photography exhibition?
It’s my first solo exhibition, but I’ve done four group exhibitions.
And why did you decide to do a solo exhibition of your photography?
I mean, it’s something that I always wanted. I’m a filmmaker first and always have been, but photography has always been a passion of mine. I was asked by Lindsay, the curator for AKA, if I would exhibit my photographs there so naturally I jumped at the chance.
Do you think your experience as filmmaker informs your photography?
Definitely. These photographs are an extension of my style as a director. Intimate and subtle. I think before you can make a moving image you have to be able to take a still. In filmmaking I think of one image or impression at a time.
What time period do the images in the exhibition span?
I would say roughly over the last five years.
And how to decide on which photos to include in the exhibition, did a theme or thread emerge for you?
That’s a good question. Lindsay and I sat down and started looking through my work and there was no common thread per se, but we did notice that stylistically the imagery was intimate and somewhat voyeuristic so we started selecting images that represented this sort of theme. Overall, it’s quite loose to be honest, and more based on my taste and what I find looks good.
I think aesthetic decisions of what looks good are as important as ‘themes’.
Definitely. I mean without taste, what do we have? Isn’t that what being an ‘artist’ is?
Do you think Berlin has had an influence on your work?
Massively. I moved here 8 years ago and it definitely helped me grow as a filmmaker and helped me change my style for the better. The difference in work is night and day.
Has creating a photo exhibition changed the way you feel about your photography, is it something you may do more of?
Well, truthfully, it’s just made me hate my work more because now it’s not just something I do for fun now it’s going to be judged in a different context! So, let’s see, this may just be a one off.
Follow Nehemias on Instagram and Facebook, and see more of his work at nehemiascolindres.com.
