Foam Talks x Paris Photo - Simon Lehner & Victoria Pidust

New media techniques like 3D rendering and artificial intelligence are pushing the boundaries of contemporary photography. By not making a distinction between real and generated images Simon Lehner (1996, DE) and Victoria Pidust (1992, UA) question our perception of reality. With Shoair Malvian, director of Photoworks and curator of Paris Photo Curiosa sector, the two artists speak about how they are pushing photography outside the frame. Simon Lehner’s work is based on personal experiences. Its documentary core explores contemporary issues, social structures, psychology and its relation to current human and social developments through direct and embedded observation. The series uses fundamental elements and physical gestures of image-making as an analogy to the control that trauma can exercise over memories and self-perception. His project ‘’The Mind is a Voice, the Voice is Blind’’ presents a digital reconstruction of Simon Lehner’s childhood memories. The artist sought to relive his childhood traumas, creating 3D-renders of people and places of his past. In this way, Lehner compares the process of digital post-production to the constant unconscious reconfiguration of our own personal memories. With her hyperrealist, layered panoramas, Victoria Pidust takes us into a visual maze where our perception is stirred up. The artist adapts generative aesthetic and concrete art to her artistic practice thereby transforming photography's traditional purpose of depicting reality into a creative endeavour. In her hybrid baroque-like works, analogue and digital images unite subjective and generative photography. Based on photogrammetry, her expressive digital photographic works are produced through human consciousness and artificial intelligence and describe the path from 2D to 3D. Together, Foam and Paris Photo present a brand-new season of the podcast series Foam Talks: Talent Edition. This series presents eight talented image-makers from both the fair's Curiosa Sector and Foam Talent 2021. Each of the episodes welcomes two photographers, one of each organisations' talent programme. Brought together by a common theme and approach, the photographers speak about their projects and motivations, as well as the challenges they encounter. Not to miss the works of the artists, please visit the digital exhibition at Talent.foam.org and the work at the Curiosa sector of Paris Photo. Concept: Amelie Schüle and Hinde Heast 
Production: Nordin Janssen
 Mastering & Mixing: Andersen Audio Productions