biography
“I once ruled the worlds. Not just one, but many. I ruled them with mirrors and lenses. I ruled them with light and shadow and time. Sometimes I ruled with a trick of the eye. Through my camera, an entire cosmos took shape, and each world within it seemed to operate by a certain unfamiliar logic, like a sort of magical clockwork.”
Born in 1977 and brought up in the southern German countryside, Jan von Holleben lived most of his youth in an alternative commune and identifies a strong connection between the development of his photographic work and the influence of his parents, a cinematographer and child therapist. At the age of 13, he followed his father’s photographic career by picking up a camera and experimenting with all sorts of „magical tricks“, developing his photographic imagination and skills with friends and family and later honing his technique in commercial settings. After pursuing studies in teaching children with disabilities at the Pädagogische Hochschule in Freiburg, he moved to London, earned a degree in the Theory and History of Photography at Surrey Institute of Art and Design, and became submerged within the London photographic scene, where he worked as picture editor, art director and photographic director. He quickly set up two photographic collectives, Young Photographers United and photodebut, followed more recently by the Photographer’s Office. His body of photographic work focusing on the ‘homo ludens’ – the man who learns through play, is itself built from a playful integration of pedagogical theory with his own personal experiences of play and memories of childhood.
Jan von Holleben’s work has been exhibited internationally and published widely throughout the world.
His favourite collaborators are: his friends and any pirates, fairies, dragons, monsters and punks that are about.
Otherwise he greatly fancies loads of cups of fresh herbal tea, Bircher Müsli, colourful socks, his bike, long swims and walking in the mountains, Yo yo yo!
cv
Born 1977 in Germany.
Grew up in the Southern German countryside.
Lives and works in Berlin and anywhere else in the universe.
awards
| GOLD: | Lead Awards, Science Book of the Year, Florence Biennale Award for Photography, PX3 Photography Award, Best CP Award, Art for Aid Award, Young Portfolio Award, Magenta Award, Audi / Next Level Photographic Award, Unicum Award, Backlight Award |
| others: | Lead Awards, The Observer Hodge Photographic Award, Hyeres Festivale de la Photographie, Lens Culture Award , Aesthetica Award, Idn + graniph Universe Award, Photographery Masters Cup, PHE07 Best Photography Books, Cedefop Award, International Photography Award, Festimage, Photoreview Award, London Photographic Award, FotoSalon Award, SONY world photography (shortlisted) |
editorials
| regulars: | Die Zeit, Spiegel, Spiegel Wissen, Dein Spiegel, DU Magazin, Geo, Geolino, Zeit Magazin, Dogs, Migros Magazin, Eltern, Eltern Family, BISS, Philosophie |
| others: | Dummy, Adbusters, Art Review, Zeit Campus, Emotion, Neon, Creative Review, Dazed& Confused, Day 4, Chrismon, Bant, Brigitte, Popular Mechanics, Dumbo Feather, Lucky, DPI, Focus, Loved, IDN, Irish Times, Diva, Label, Liberation, Max, Next Level, Ojodepez, Photo Review, Photography, Repubblica, Rojo, Real Simple, Style 100, The Face, The Sunday Review, Sleazenation, SZ-Magazin, Vice, Vogue Girl |
monographs
| Forthcoming | many many more books |
| 2016 | WWWas?, Gabriel Verlag, Stuttgart |
| 2015 | Wie heißt dein Gott eigentlich mit Nachnamen?, Gabriel Verlag, Stuttgart Konrad Wimmel ist da!, Gabriel Verlag, Stuttgart |
| 2014 | Kinderlieder aus Deutschland und Europa, Carus Verlag & Gabriel Verlag, Stuttgart Does that happen to everyone?, Gestalten Verlag, Berlin |
| 2013 | DENKSTE?!, Gabriel Verlag (Thienemann Verlag), Stuttgart Kriegen das eigentlich alle?, Gabriel Verlag (Thienemann Verlag), Stuttgart |
| 2011 | Adventures in Editora, The Photographer’s Office, Berlin |
| 2010 | HO HO HO, The Photographer’s Office, Berlin |
| 2009 | Mutatis Mutandis, The Photographer’s Office, London Dreams of Flying vol.2, The Photographer’s Office, London |
| 2008 | Träume vom Fliegen, Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg The Snowbed , The Photographer’s Office, London |
| 2007 | 11-21, The Photographer’s Office, London 1585 Deutsche Börse + Xchange, Corps, Düsseldorf |
| 2006 | Dreams of Flying, The Photographer’s Office, London And various artist’s books, catalogues and publications. |
selected solo exhibitions
| 2016 | Homo Ludens, Tulla Galerie, Mannheim |
| 2015 | Willst Du mit mir segeln gehen?, Flensburger Schiffahrtsmuseum Magic Bodø, ParkART Bodø, Norway |
| 2014 | The Amazing Analogue: How we play photography, Hove Museum & Art Gallery |
| 2012 | Permanent Installation “Lilly & Jonathan”, John Radcliff Children Hospital, Oxford The Snowbed & selected works, DIPLOMAT Galerie Philadelphia |
| 2011 | Spiel mit – 4 collaborative projects, Galerie Foth / Freiburg |
| 2010 | Nur gespielt, Städtische Galerie Friedrichsbau, Bühl White Lakes, pool gallery, Berlin Best of 000-010, Gesto, Porto |
| 2009 | Mutatis Mutandis, Farmani Gallery, New York Liebesorte, c/o Berlin |
| 2008 | It’ll happen here, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta Dreams of Flying, Graniph, Sydney Dreams of Flying, BZ Galerie, Freiburg Kleines Glück Grosses Spiel, UNO Gallery, Stuttgart The Snowbed, Radialsytem, Berlin* |
| 2007 | wir werden immer grösser, Galerie Robinson, Paris wir werden immer grösser , Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York 11 -21, NeunPlus, Berlin (book) Dreams of Flying, V&A Museum of Childhood, London |
| 2006 | Dreams of Flying, Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York (book) |
| 2005 | Dreams of Flying, Nogoodwindow, Paris |
| 2001 | The Apricot, Kunstverein Kirchzarten, Kirchzarten |
| 2000 | The Mystery of…, Jos Fritz, Freiburg Punkt B, Hans Bodirsky, Freiburg |
| 1999 | Madia Pradesh- India’98, Hans Bodirsky, Oberrotweil Jansichten, Spitalkirche, Breisach |
and many many many group exhibitions
(a complete and detailed CV is available upon request)