Michael Najjar (Germany)

Netropolis (2007)

Programme: Zamek Książąt Pomorskich, Galeria Elżbietańska, Galeria Mirosławy, Korsarzy 34 Thursday (19.03) Start 17:30

Born in 1966 in Landau, Germany . He graduated from Bildo Academy (Berlin, Germany) in photography/new media art. Lived and worked in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), Madrit (Spain), Havana (Cuba), Tokio (Japan), New York (USA), London (UK). Currently lives and works in Berlin. Represented by Bitforms Gallery (New York, USA) and Galeria Juan Silló (Santander , Spain).

Netropolis
The work series entitled Netropolis is an exploration of the way global cities will develop in the future.
Of similar magnitude to the impact of the industrial revolution in the late 19th century , it is now computer networks and the information society based on them which are the main vehicles for change, the key elements transforming the face of our urban living spaces.
Three main components characterise this transformation: space becomes the image of space, the city itself becomes a terminal as real space fuses with telematic space. In the telematic society material embodiment is further supplemented and extended by a virtual representation: the so-called tele-polis. Telematic space endows the urban environment with a new form of structure, intermingling with it and giving birth to a completely unprecedented form of urban
space.
The panoramic view transforms the reality of urban spatial structure into landscape. The digital fusion of panoramic views taken from different angles transforms the landscape into a woven fabric of relationships which is abstract and multi-layered yet still underpinned by a geographic reference point. Viewing the city from a distance inverses the perceptual order of objects viewed in close-up.  The view from afar is oriented on what is clearly visible from a distance and provides a context for objects which appear too close when viewed close up and thus retain their strangeness. In virtual space, however , distance and proximity lie on the selfsame level.
The different cities and relationship strands need first to be combined and interwoven before they can give rise to a completely unprecedented and imaginary form of urbanity – the telematic netropolis.
The  Netropolis series of works portrays the megacities of Berlin, Hongkong, Laos, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City , Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and T okyo.
The work series comprises of hybrid-photography, video works and 3-dimensional image sculptures.