Karen Knorr
India Song (2008 – 2020)
Karen Knorr
India Song 2008 – 2020
Karen Knorr focuses on the architectural splendour and caste culture of Rajasthan. The birds and mammals inserted in the photographs link the Ramayana culture of northern India with allegorical representations of femininity and masculinity by creating visual disturbances in the private rooms of palaces. Using the artistic tools of the 21st century – the camera and the computer – she references ancient Rajasthani art forms and myths and reworks them into contemporary artworks.
Born in 1954 in Frankfurt am Main, Karen Knorr grew up in Puerto Rico in the 1960s. She is currently professor of Photography at the University of the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey. Museums and heritage sites appear repeatedly in her photographic work. Populating museum halls with naturalised animals contributes to questioning the status and purpose of European cultural heritage. The book India Song was published by Skira in 2014.