Seeing the Toy Shop (Corona Currency) Print

Artist Stephanie Guse, born 1971 in Bielefeld, Germany, lives and works in Vienna, Austria. In her photographs, she questions our ability to see on a physical level, but also on a meta-level. The viewer spontaneously identifies valuable items such as designer handbags, old masterpieces, jewelery or trophies. At second glance, however, they turn out to be a collection of worthless props such as candy wrappers or plastic bags. Consumption, status symbols and self-expression are the topics that inspire Stephanie Guse and which she equally and critically pursues. Furthermore she considers herself to be an „artventurer” because she dedicates her work to important social issues such as pollution and environmental protection. This why she is right now starting a European project called „Men and Sea” in which scientists and artists together are experiencing the Mediterranean Sea in order to invent future concepts for sustainable living.