about

© Lilly Schwartz 2019

© Lilly Schwartz 2019

 

Lilly Schwartz is a documentary and street photographer based in Europe.

Capturing human behaviour and interaction is what drives her to prowl the streets, especially when these facets become odd, disturbing or outright ridiculous. In her search for the common everyday madness more often than not the banality of our daily human existence shines through, which of course has its own inherent oddities and absurdities.

Beyond her work on the streets, her long-term documentary projects often hinge on a personal connection, where her own experiences expand into themes of more generalised interest.

“I have been using film for more than 5 years now and shoot exclusively analog at the moment. In a world where cameras are so easy to use in automatic mode that even a monkey can take a selfie I like to slow down and use fully manual cameras without a screen and unlimited storage. There is a lot more craft involved in film photography and I like that. On some level the process of developing film and printing my work in the darkroom is also rather therapeutic for me, because it usually gets me through those boring rainy winter months when nothing much is happening out there on the streets.“

Lilly Schwartz is a founding member and co-editor of the publication She Shoots Film, which provides a platform for women photographers who use traditional photographic processes. She is also a member of the Film Shooters Collective, an international group of photographers who are united by their love for film.

Both her photographic and editorial work is informed by a broad interdisciplinary background in Cultural Studies, Philosophy and Robotics.

exhibitions:

06-08.06.2018 – solo exhibition and accompanying talk with the topic “Women in Photography” in the context of the Forgotten Female Bodies workshop at the University of the Basque Country, San Sebastián, Spain [ workshop program ].
02-04.09.2016 – video installation Straßenfotografien at Onkel Stereo, Duisburg, Germany, as part of the Platzhirsch Festival.
12-18.05.2014 – solo exhibition The delightful weirdness of being at Picture Puzzle Medien, Cologne, Germany [ announcement in German | impressions ]

20.09.-31.10.2019 – group exhibition “Earth, Aliens, Hope and the Unknown” of the Film Shooters Collective at Photo Patagonia 2019 in Río Gallegos, Argentina.
19.07.-10.08.2019 – group exhibition “Earth, Aliens, Hope and the Unknown” of the Film Shooters Collective at Sala La Polaroid in Cadiz, Spain [ announcement ]
07-16.06.2019 – group exhibition “Earth, Aliens, Hope and the Unknown” of the Film Shooters Collective with accompanying talks about the work at the Revela T analog photography festival, Barcelona, Spain [ vlog ]
24.08.-10.09.2017 – group exhibition at Galerie Adlergasse, Dresden, Germany.
08.09.-07.10.2017 – group exhibition Black and White presented by the Film Shooters Collective at Blue Moon Camera & Machine, Portland, OR, USA [ announcement ].
08-30.09.2017 – group exhibition Shot on Film presented by the Film Shooters Collective  at The Willow Tree, Johnson City, TN, USA [ announcement ].03-19.02.2017 – group exhibition Women Who Shoot Film at Feed Arts & Cultural Center,
Kankakee, IL, USA.
05-27.08.2016 – group exhibition of the Film Shooters Collective at Kranzberg Arts Center, St. Louis, MO, USA [ announcement ].
06-13.06.2015 – group exhibition at Rösslstube, Dresden, Germany [ impressions ].
14-21.12.2013 – group exhibition No Time No Space No Soulannouncement | impressions ] at Hole of Fame, Dresden, Germany.
01-06.04.2013 – group exhibition at the gallery Der Ararat Dresden, Germany.