TIM ROD
Tim Rod (*1992, Bern, CH) lives and works in Bern, CH.
His work often explores issues related to exile and habitat, rootlessness and rootedness, as well as memory, identity, belonging and travelling. His own roots and family history are one of the central elements of his practice and his research, alongside collective visual culture. While his practice remains strongly rooted in photography, his works often expand into site-specific multimedia installations.
- 2015-2018 Bachelor in Art Education, HKB, Bern
- 2017-2018 Exchange semester in finearts, Belas Artes, Lisbon
- 2019-2021 Formation supérieure en photographie, CEPV, Vevey
- 2021-2024 Master in Contemporary Arts Practice, HKB, Bern
His work has been exhibited since 2018 in Switzerland and internationally since 2021. Recent exhibitions include L’Été sans fin(Festival Images, Vevey, 2020), Genesis (Hackney Downs Studios, London, 2021), Charta Bookfestival (Rome, 2021), Photobook Award Encontros Da Imagem (Braga, Portugal, 2021), European Photobook Month (Hongkong, 2022) and Galerie Bernhard Bischoff & Partner (Bern, Switzerland, 2023). He has been nominated or shortlisted to several major Swiss and international awards. His project Don’t forget the Knifish was awarded the special mention of the near.prize 2021. The same year, he won the vfg Young Talent Award for Photography with the project À demain inshallah.
Website Links:
https://www.futures-photography.com/artists/tim-rod
https://www.near.li/en/photographers/photographer/tim-rod/portfolio/
Artist Statement
Tim Rod draws from his photo archive of the last ten years and brings a collection of images into the space. It’s a reflection of his own visual world, which over time threatened to fade into obscure oblivion. The mostly digitally stored negative scans, originating from analog sources, become fleeting, invisible data. With his exhibition, he aims to make the images visible again, restore their tactile qualities, and allow them to speak for themselves, with each other, and within the space. Thus, a portrait taken nine years ago finds itself next to a landscape shot taken a few months ago, forming a new connection together. However, no decision remains final: a combination that seems right today may feel wrong again tomorrow. The infinite possibilities of combining images contradict the initial desire for control that the artist aimed for in his master thesis. The countless captures born from an insatiable interest in the surface of life become an organic network in the space, seemingly taking on a life of its own. Many small stories merge into a whole and, as an installation, grow into a new narrative once again.