Ulrike Unterbruner

My work begins where habit clouds perception. I am not concerned with depicting reality, but with revealing contradictions that are routinely overlooked in everyday life. In twelve satirical photographic compositions, I explore consumer-oriented lifestyles in the German-speaking world that have a significant impact on the climate. I conduct a visual investigation of our everyday habits—tongue-in-cheek, yet without offering excuses. My images emerge through a multi-stage process of deconstruction and recomposition. For me, photography is a tool for staging: I create self-portraits in front of staged settings and occasionally incorporate generative AI. In these images, I embody prototypes of prosperity whose lifestyles stand in stark contrast to ecological reality. Each portrayed character is accompanied by a quote, intensifying the ambivalence between self-image and global impact.

Biography

Ulrike Unterbruner, *1953 in Linz (AT); lives and works in Salzburg (AT). After a career as a university professor in the Department of Science Education, Unterbruner has been focusing on artistic photography since 2018. Her training includes the program and the diploma year in applied and artistic photography at the Prague School of Photography. In addition to abstract works, her focus is on conceptual photography addressing environmental and social issues.