Details

UGOT Photography is a publishing platform for contemporary photography produced by the photography unit at University of Gothenburg.

Its news digest events, exhibitions, books, research and writings on photography and related subjects aiming to describe strains of a critical discourse surrounding contemporary photography in practice, theory and culture.

The photography unit at HDK-Valand at University of Gothenburg, is a complete educational environment stretching from BA, to Master and PhD-education – all informed by the research at the department, and the on-going research collaboration with Hasselblad Foundation. There is a strong focus on critical photo history, curatorial practises and photography and human rights and environmental photography.

For more information about our programmes and application, please visit our website: www.gu.se/hdk-valand

Categories:

Exhibitions: Exhibitions by students at the photography unit at HDK/Valand.

Degree Show: Degree Shows by students from the MA and BA programs in photography at HDK/Valand.

Research: Research and Artistic development at HDK/Valand.

Articles: Articles on contemporary photography, artistic practice and photographic methods. The texts are written by students at the master-and bachelor program in photography at HDK/Valand.

UGOT Photography was founded in 2017 by Niclas Östlind, Stefan Jensen and Julia Tedroff and the designers Lindqvist & Lundgren.
In the spring of 2018, the first articles written by students in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs were published.

Inspired in part by Words Without Pictures (2009) – a book about photography without images by curator Charlotte Cotton – we wanted to highlight the thoughts and perspectives on photography and photographic practice that emerge within the education. We were curious about what happens in the process of making – the reflections, insights, and ideas that arise when working artistically with photography. And we wanted to share this way of thinking, not only within the university but also with a broader audience interested in photography – to open up the conversation and show that behind every image lies a context, a search, a thought.

Beyond the fact that artistic practice results in exciting and thought-provoking works, it also offers something more – a space to think, to question, and to shape new perspectives. That’s a big part of why we do this in the first place. And while it can sometimes feel heavy or abstract theorizing, intellectualizing – it’s also what higher education is about: diving into the practice of photography, the history of the field, understanding the theoretical frameworks that surround it, and daring to examine the questions photography has always wrestled with – and still does.

There’s much more behind these articles than just words on a page. They are the result of years of education, hands-on practice, searching for knowledge – but also of doubt, re-evaluation, and at times, frustration. The texts reflect what takes place in an artistic process: rarely straightforward, often complex and evolving. In the field of pedagogy they say that education is transformative – that it changes you – and that’s true. But that transformation isn’t always comfortable.

But more concretely, how do we go about to get here? The work on these articles begins in the later stages of the program. In the third year of the Bachelor’s and the second year of the Master’s program, students write a longer essay on a topic that is central to their own artistic practice. These essays often (though not always) form the basis for the articles we publish here. In both their writing and their artistic work, students have explored and articulated specific questions and perspectives that are expressed in the texts.

Julia Tedroff