A Diary - But Not About Me, Mette Juul

Title: A Diary - But Not About Me

Artist: Mette Juul

Text: Cecilie Bepler & Mette Mortensen

Pages: 36

Year: 2007

Type: Hardcover catalogue

Publisher: Galleri Image

About the exhibition:

Viewing A DIARY - BUT NOT ABOUT ME the observer is taken on a journey; to a camp site, the woods, water and even Iceland, the USA and Berlin. Mette Juul has visited all these places and presents them as if they were pieces from the family photo album. Yet not, even though the framing, lighting and arrangement of the objects could indicate amateur shots, it is far from an amateur at work. Who would photograph the interior of a telephone booth and thereby document the atmosphere of a vacation?
This is what makes the photos more than just holiday memories. The fortuitousness of the photographed themes, objects or places indicate something more private than universal. They refer to something personal, a meeting with an interpreted reality. Mette Juul approaches the complex relationship between documentary and fiction and expresses a formally challenging two-sided view of the world. It is a type of portrayal, that shapes the documentary into specific, recognizable objects. These are not neutral observations, since reality is observed through a temperament where each observation is charged with potential significance. There is something beyond authenticity, and behind the routine of the snapshot an element of drama lurks. The atmosphere is suddenly charged with potential significance. At the same time, refined impulses make the photographs seem more profound than ordinary notes on everyday life. In this regard, the frame of the diary becomes specific and obvious.
Dreams, expectations, thoughts, ideas and hope are revealed in a diary, and it is evident that Mette Juul is working with this in mind. When you mention yourself, you always mention someone else, and when you mention someone else, you always mention yourself.

Mette Juul graduated from Glasgow School of Art in fine Art Photography (BA hons) 2005. She has also studied at Kunst Akademi Weissensee in Berlin, 2004 and at the The European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark, 1999-2000. She is currently completing her Masters Degree at The Royal College of Art in London. Mette Juul has exhibited in Scotland, Germany, Sweden and Iceland. She has won several prizes and scholarships.