Zoë Croggon Juxtaposes Interiors With the Human Form

Australian artist Zoë Croggon scours second-hand stores for used architecture magazines, photography books, and dance catalogs. Through a process of trial and error, folding sets of photographs together, she then combines images of the human form in motion with interior photographs. A suite of these collages is now on view at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, in “Zoë Croggon: Tenebrae.” Some of the depicted spaces are well known, including Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center and a boutique by David Chipperfield. However, she prefers the specific sites remain anonymous. “They are de-contextualized and fragmented,” Croggon writes. The identity of ballerinas and gymnasts are also obscured, evoking the universal human form instead of specific personalities.

In pairing bodies with architectural images, the artist is looking to create a dialogue between the two. “I find the trained body and modern architecture fascinating counterparts, each unyielding, severe, and rigorously functional in form,” she writes.

Each of the images begins as printed material and is then digitally scanned. Typically the material is reprinted and assembled manually. This allows the artist to work intuitively while considering the connections between our bodies and the spaces they inhabit.

The exhibit is part of a group of shows celebrating the 50th anniversary of the museum’s photography department. Also on view are works by William Eggleston, Sophie Calle, Adam Fuss, and other artists.

“Zoë Croggon: Tenebrae” is on view at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, until July 30th.