by: Fredda Gordon
I am in awe at the power of our Female Fotographers of Facebook community and would like to share a recent adventure that grew from this page.
“I didn’t know if the wine was good, but I loved the way the bottle looked,” Ulla Reimer said with a smile, regarding the rose served at her opening party. This was my introduction to the deep level of creativity of Ulla and Caroline Carles. The creativity didn’t stop there. A framed photo served as a tray for the colorful tapas and the clear bags filled with ice, kept the wine classy and chilled.
I met Ulla on Facebook as I was planning trip to France. When I saw she lived in my upcoming destination, I asked her for some advice for my trip. She was very helpful and mentioned her gallery opening. Luck was on my side as I managed to miraculously squeeze the event into my already busy agenda.
“Come to the party in the chapel at the roundabout in the center,” are the directions I received via text for the location of the opening. I drove into the little French village of Gordes, easily found the chapel, and entered the gallery in awe. I was surrounded by beautiful stone walls, with high arches dividing the large space into three sections. The lighting was low to enhance the mood, but bright enough to see the work. In the middle of the main room was a velvet red sofa flanked in the back by a slab of metal held up by two stacks of Ulla’s published photography book.
From this vantage point, I could see all three sections of the chapel. One for Ulla’s solo work, one for Caroline’s and the third for their collaborative work. Although they only began working together a year and a half ago, they've come together seamlessly. Where one ends the other begins. Even their solo work has a similarity to it, which is why their collaborations work so well. Their solo work includes broad statements of structures and the curves of the human body. Ulla also has an extensive portrait collection.
Their collaborative work consists of one of Ulla’s images set beside one of Caroline’s, which have been carefully chosen to work together to create a strong visual statement. These works are not sold separately, and you wouldn’t want them that way, because there is power in the connection, as there is with these two women. Each piece is presented as frameless images fused to an aluminum backing. A very expensive treatment, but worth it, as they look amazing and are virtually indestructible. Unfortunately, this was tested by a flood in Ulla’s home. There was a pipe break and within one hour her house was under two feet of water. The photos, which were going to a gallery opening the next morning, were leaning on the floor. She wiped them clean and they still look great.
In addition to these pieces, they have done other projects together. One was a video they created for the village of Gordes. At least that is how they described it to me before I unexpectedly saw it myself. I was visiting the Villages Les Bories, and watched the interesting video explanation of what I was seeing. At the end I saw Ulla and Caroline’s name and thought “Oh, THIS is the video they were talking about.” Ulla did the filming, and Caroline did the still shots and editing. Their interesting, creative angles and attention to detail was evident throughout the video.
They also worked on a book together, which is a not-for-profit venture to help disabled children in Vietnam. This was their first project together and how they met. The book is the culmination of a humanitarian project that Ulla has been involved with for many years. She works with disabled children, giving them her time and use of her camera. Each child has a few pages in the book where their photographs are presented. This is their work, not Ulla’s.
Ulla and Caroline started differently in the field. Caroline has had art in her life forever. She began her photography education as a small child, developing photos beside her father in his basement darkroom. Ulla started at 16 years old working for a movie company. She dove in quickly using her talent and ingénue to propel her forward. She took a few years off to raise a child, but dove back in, head on a few years ago. Together they will go far and I am honored to be able to write this article and to know them.
View their work and get more information on their websites:
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| Ulla and Caroline |
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| The Chapel |
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