Laura Bielau’s photo book Arbeit (Work) is about the actual space of her work as a photographer and artist: the studio in which she operates. One aspect of the work centres on what she finds in this space, the resources she has at her disposal there, and the way she moves in it. Beyond that, it is also about the space of production in which the photographic image appears, about the processes involved—and thus the formal decisions that she makes as an artist. And it is about the space of ideas, the intellectual exploration, in other words, that she incorporates into her work. All these different facets provide the structure for Bielau’s work—and she is not alone here—and have led her to this specific work, whose title, which is both succinct and profound, encapsulates what working as an artist is all about: transforming an idea into a concrete piece and then showing the work in exhibition.
Laura Bielau lives and works as an artist in Berlin and Halle. Her work was awarded the Prize of the Kunstverein Hannover in 2015. In 2016 she was selected for the DZ BANK Art Collection’s project grant. In 2019 she received a working scholarship from the State of Saxony-Anhalt and the Kloster Bergesche Stiftung.
