Tina Schula (born in Vienna, Austria lives and works in New York, NY) holds a BA in Film from The London College of Communication, UK, and an MFA in Photography from The School of Visual Arts, New York, NY. She is a finalist of the Klompching Gallery's Fresh 2011 Photography Exhibit juried by W.M. Hunt and Darren Ching and a recipient of The Camera Club New York 2010 Darkroom residency. Her work has been featured in numerous art exhibitions including the 2011 Camera Club of New York Photo Benefit Auction; The Humble Arts' Collector's Guide to New Art Photography exhibition at The Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY; Scope Basel, Basel, Switzerland; and AVA Gallery, New York, NY. Schula’s photographs have been published in The Humble Arts Collector's Guide to New Art Photography Volume 2; Datum Magazine; Falter Durst Magazine; on numerous blogs including Bomb Magazine, White Wall, Conscientious and Lenscratch.
Statement
“In Radical Camp, I reflect upon the current rise of extremist groups in the US and Europe. My particular aim is to look at the structure and often tragicomic strategy of such groups. I have created a series of constructed tableaux focusing on a small but disparate group of men and women being trained by their leader for a gloomy mission. I depict my cast in a variety of group scenarios ranging from a therapy session, lecture, political rally, militia training to a love bombing scene underscoring the complexity of extremist groups. The images further draw comparisons between the structure of groups in general and that of radical groups. Some photographs allude to specific cults and terrorist organizations in the past (Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple, David Koresh, the Baader Meinhof group). The mug shot portraits of individual group members disrupt the plot and suggest the characters' inevitable arrest. By constructing an intricate narrative I try to convey that, as with extremist groups, the need for social acceptance and conformity often outweighs ideology. Radical Camp is about the sudden radicalization of previously nonpolitical, marginalized individuals today and in history. Cinematic lighting and a bold, farcical style have been employed to mimic the often camp behavior of cults and extremists“.
www.tinaschula.com
