The Lloyd Gill Gallery: Christian Kraatz

Christian Kraatz
Christian Kraatz
Christian Kraatz

Christian Kraatz was born and raised in the former German Democratic Republic in 1980. His artistic skill have been influenced by German artist Kai Simon. After five years of collaboration Christian started to do his own exhibitions and worked as a freelance photographer. Since 2009 he is living and working in London. Concentrating on the subject identity. In July 2010 he started to work on the series We Refuse To Be Enemies and founded 3is3identity a platform for artists displaying their diverse approaches to the topic identity.

Exhibitions

2011, "3is3 Identity" Block16, Hannover (GER)
2011, "Identity Street Gallery", Primrose Hill, London (UK)
2010, "3is3 Identity", RAG Factory, London (UK)
2008, "Begleiterscheinungen", M6, Hamburg (GER)
2007, "Alles noch gar nicht.", B-22, Hamburg (GER)

We Refuse To Be Enemies

We Refuse To Be Enemies shows the effects of exterior influences forming identity. Beautiful landscape and daily life photographs in their very own format(10:7) are putting the focus on how a suppressed Palestinian Family resists peacefully in order to keep their farmland which they conceive as their mother. The Nassar family are faced with Israeli destruction orders, road blocks and denial of access to electricity and drinking water. Regardless of owner-ship documents dated back to 1916 they have been struggling to prove their right to occupy this land for 18 years. Nevertheless the family fights these oppressions in a very impressive way. Straight after there motto We Refuse To Be Enemies. They contest Military orders at the court, built cisterns to collect rain water and invite people from all around the world for an open dialogue and encounter.

Title: Cistern

Medium: Lambda print on Dibond and acrylic finishing, edition of 5.

Dimensions: 80cm x 56cm

Year: 2010

Price: £1000

A Cistern is an artificial build bottle shaped water reservoir, where water is collected during the rainy season. Those cisterns are essential to the Nassar family due to the denial of access to drinking water. The Jewish settlement Neve Daniel is visible in a distance.

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Title: Swing

Medium: Lambda print on Dibond and acrylic finishing, edition of 5.

Dimensions:56cm x 80cm

Year: 2010

Price: £1000

A view on Israel from 950 m above sea level. On clear days it is possible to see the Mediterranean

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Title: Digging

Medium: Lambda print on Dibond and acrylic finishing, edition of 5.

Dimensions:56cm x 80cm

Year: 2010

Price: £1000

It takes two month of hard work to build a cistern. A volunteer is digging it with simple tools and bare hands.

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Title: Dog

Medium: Lambda print on Dibond and acrylic finishing, edition of 5.

Dimensions:56cm x 80cm

Year: 2010

Price: £1000

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Title: Watering

Medium: Lambda print on Dibond and acrylic finishing, edition of 5.

Dimensions: 80cm x 56cm

Year: 2010

Price: £1000

Two Volunteers have carried the heavy water tanks from far away in torridity, as young wine has to be watered regularly in its first two years.

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Title: Domicile

Medium: Lambda print on Dibond and acrylic finishing, edition of 5.

Dimensions: 80cm x 56cm

Year: 2010

Price: £1000

For constructions higher than 80 cm it is necesarry to have a building permit that is hard to get for Palestinians. In Order to guard against destruction orders the main part of the house is build underground.