“Copygraphs” is the name Andrea Esswein calls the works of art she has been producing with the help of photocopiers since 1998. With the photocopier serving to capture the images she first copies each item with her subjects ranging from objects to animals. Esswein then creates a new work by making a large collage out of the separately photocopied pieces along a rectangular line. The interfaces and overlaps between the individual pieces remain visible after the ensuing process. Esswien is interested in the construction of a new reality far from people’s usual viewing habits. The stark contrasts produced by the copying process and the following manufacturing techniques cause Esswein’s objects to emerge from beneath a layer of gloss paint and synthetic resin. They appear three-dimensional darkness and hold a kind of sanctity.

Andrea Esswein (born 1969 in southern Germany) graduated from the Institute of Arts and Science of Art, University Landau, Germany and studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria. Shows include Reflexion – Ästhetische Referenzen, Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Germany; Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden; Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern; Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen; Angehaltene Zeit. Bilder vom Tanz, touring exhibition of Goethe-Institut; C/O Galerie Berlin; Deutsches Tanzmuseum Cologne; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Chile. Her work is represented in numerous public collections including Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and SK Stiftung Cologne. In 2006 she was artist in residence at Performing Arts Forum (PAF), France.