Nummianus
The photographic series “Nummianus” critically explores ideas of displacement and the collapse of a sense of rootedness regarding the notion of place. The sequential photographs show boarded up, terraced houses in the Greater Manchester area. Some residents, unable to sell their homes, are forced to remain in the area where they have become subject to a downward spiral of social exclusion. Critically intended, the images comment on the former wealth, diversity and livelihood through the deliberate reference to the city of Pompeii. The title of the show is a direct reference to an inscription found in the remains of a house in that city, and literally translated means coin or money. Through this, Klenz makes an ironic reference to homes as commodities and creates a memorial to the loss of communities.

Steffi Klenz is a photographic artist based in London. Her series “Nummianus” was first shown at the New Art Gallery in Walsall from September-November 2009. To coincide with the exhibitions at Walsall and Glasgow, she published her first book entitled ‘Polo Bound for Passaic’, which is distributed by Cornerhouse Publications and Schaden Verlag. She recently completed her new work for the Pavilion Commission 2009, which is currently on show at the Djanogly Art Gallery in Nottingham. She is also currently showing her work ‘La Posa’ at the Goethe Institute in Glasgow.

The exhibition is a collaboration with The New Art Gallery, Walsall.










La Posa
explores the idea of the house as an architectural and visual metaphor, comprising the idea of home as a point of origin and return. Located in the village of Tyneham in South-West England, which was repossessed by the army and deemed essential for the war effort in 1943, the intellectual roots of the photographic series are within the tradition of ephemeral buildings. The photographic images create a space that disturbs the familiar space of the home and raises the question: If the house has been turned inside out, how can one ever go home?

The title ‘La Posa’ refers to a faux-anthropological narrative by Juan Munoz featured in his small publication ‘Segment’.

A publication ‘Polo Bound for Passaic’ has been produced with contributions from Mark Cousins, Jennifer Thatcher, Jeremy Till and Jean Wainwright.

A collaboration with The Goethe Institut, Glasgow.