TRAUMA PORN

“Trauma Porn” is an experimental installation, addressing trauma as a long-term consequence of war.

Using vintage photography from Nazi Germany and WW2 as a source material for AI-generated and altered image worlds, the work tries to recreate the traumatic flashbacks of Eldagsen’s father who went to war when he was 16.

A totalitarian regime needs people who carry out its crimes – and those who support them ideologically or through their passivity. This work focuses on the latter. It is the attempt to enter an average person's mind being sucked into the abyss and not being able to get out of it.

To balance out his bias, Boris teamed up with Bangladesh artist Tanvir Taolad, to bring out the timeless aspects of the image material. He also invited Spanish photographer Carlos Collado to assistant in the creation of AI-generated images.

This work is rooted in history – but sadly timeless. Therefore, we dedicate the work to the brave people of Ukraine.

Trigger Warning: The installation shows authentic images of war. We recommend children only to enter with their parents and an age limit of 16 years.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Boris Eldagsen (*1970) studied fine arts at art academies in Mainz, Prague and Hyderabad and philosophy at the universities of Cologne and Mainz.

His background as a university lecturer, photo artist and digital media freelancer makes him one of the AI experts in the German photo scene.

He is "Head of Digital" of the DFA and a member of the DGPh.

In April 2023, he turned down the Sony World Photography Awards (Open Category /Creative) and admitted that he had applied with an AI-generated image to initiate a debate about the relationship between AI-generated images and photography. The stunt became worldwide news and his image THE ELECTRICIAN one of the most famous of the year.

Dhaka-based artist Tanvir Taolad was born in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, in 1987. He studied fine arts at Narayanganj Fine Art Academy and photography at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute.

Influenced by anything and everything, his work explores the inner reality, the unconscious, to see what lies beyond the physical world. He depicts raw, untraditional forms of vulnerability based on fantasy, nightmares, hallucinations and daydreams. Mixing the real with the artificial, Taolad confounds the viewer and challenges perceptual conventions to open up a spiritual state.

Taolad and Eldagsen have been working together since 2017. They showed their joint work at the Indian Photo Festival Hyderabad and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.