The Rabbit Hole by Boris Eldagsen & Tanvir Taolad

This work is not related to a specific social issue or political problem, but to the origin of all issues and problems. This work is not about religions, yet it contains all religions. It is about the human condition that we all share, will share and have been shared. It is about the timeless aspects of us and the underlying conditions of suffering and hope.

Working mainly from their archives, Eldagsen & Taolad use their experimental skills of fusing and condensing photographs to create images that dig deeper into the human condition. Their collaborative work premiered with an installation at the Indian Photography Festival Hyderabad in September 2018 and was followed by [HOPE vs FEAR], a 360° site-specific installation at Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2018/19.

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TANVIR TALOAD (Dhaka | Bangladesh)

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

Influenced by everything and anything, his work explores inner reality, the unconscious, to see what is beyond the physical world. 

He exposes raw, untraditional forms of vulnerability, based on fantasy, nightmares, hallucination and day dream imagination. Blending the real with the artificial, Taolad disorients the viewer and questions conventions of perception to open up a rather spiritual state.

2015 he curated Boris’ work for a group show, and Boris was deeply impressed by the originality of the curation and the deep understanding it showed. They have stayed in contact ever since and started to collaborate May 2017. They showed their collaborative work at Indian Photo Festival Hyderabad and Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

BORIS ELDAGSEN (Berlin | Germany)

Berlin-based artist Boris Eldagsen (*1970) studied photography and visual arts at the Art Academy of Mainz, conceptual art and intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague and fine art the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication in Hyderabad, India. In addition, he studied philosophy at the Universities of Cologne and Mainz. 2013, he participated in a Roger Ballen Masterclass.

His photomedia work has been shown internationally in institutions and festivals including Fridericianum Kassel, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, CCP Melbourne, ACP Sydney, EMAF Osnabrück, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Edinburgh Art Festival, FORMAT Festival Derby, Encontros da Imagem Braga, FestFoto Porto Alegre, Photolux Biennale Lucca, Singapore International Photography Festival, Chobi Mela Dhaka, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, PhotoVisa Krasnodar, Voies Off Festival Arles and Noorderlicht Groningen.

Since 2004, Boris has lectured internationally at universities and art academies, such as Victorian College of the Arts / University Melbourne, Photography Studies College Melbourne, Akademie für Bildende Künste Mainz and Hochschule Furtwangen.  In addition, he has given workshops at institutions, such as Goethe Institut Gulf-Region, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute Dhaka, Escola d'Art i Superior de Disseny d'Olot, Centre for Contemporary Photography Melbourne, RMIT University Melbourne, Monash University Melbourne, PhotoWerkBerlin, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt and Westlicht Wien.

Boris has been awarded the ‘Prix Voies Of’ in Arles (2013) and the ‘Photography Show Award’ at the FORMAT Festival in Derby (2015). Since 2014, Boris is a member of Deutsche Fotografische Akademie.

THE RABBIT HOLE Boris Eldagsen & Tanvir Taolad
From July 4th to August 29th, 2021, Opening Monday, July 5th, 6pm
Bisous, 33 Rue de la République, 13200 Arles
Open everyday from 10am to 7pm

The exhibition is presented in its entirety during the opening week of the Rencontres, then in a condensed version until August 29th. A program of events related to the exhibition will be established based on new government measures to come. Informations will be updated on the website.

Curation : Boris Eldagsen, Tanvir Taolad & Carine Dolek

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