Tobias Zielony, born in Wuppertal lives and works in Berlin. He studied Documentary Photography at the University of Wales, Newport and artistic photography at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig. Tobias Zielonyis known for his photographic depiction of youth culture. For his first book project “Behind the Block” (2004) he extended his research to a total of four European cities to observe adolescents in public spaces often during night times. Themes and social realities his research touches upon include structural change, migration and drug abuse, as well as sexwork. His critical approach to documentarism manifests in a specific aesthetic and relationship with fiction. People are often portrayed in a casual fashion that is sensitive of the visual language, gestures and poses a person uses to set their stage. His work “The Citizen” was shown at the 56th Venice Biennale. He had group shows for example at Bozar Center for Fine Arts, Brussels (2015) and the 1st Riga Biennial (2018) and solo shows at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2011) and Folkwang Museum Essen (2021).
As of June 2022
Image courtesy of the artist and KOW