Visual Artist | Filmmaker
Anna (And where love ends, hate begins.)
2011 - ongoing
This photographic series is based on the iconic 19th-century novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoi. Anna’s tragedy, torn between social reputation and burning passion, paints an unrelenting portrait of society, which altered in nuances, is as relevant today as it was at the time it was written. The project captures subtle emotional landscapes that transcend time and explores themes of love, family and societal tensions.
‘If the world could write directly, it would write like Tolstoy.’
Gary Saul Morson
Where love ends, hate begins, Jana Koelmel's defining body of work draws on Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina. The title is taken from Anna’s final inner monologue.
Tolstoy’s writing uncovers the essence of what it means to be human and gives stark insight into the many layers of our consciousness. His understanding of the complexity and fragility of our minds and emotions has captivated Jana for over a decade.
Her project captures psychological subtleties and patterns that transcend time, exploring love, fate, gender inequalities, societal tensions and the unconscious forces that shape our lives.
Anna’s tragedy of being torn between social prestige and burning passion paints an unforgiving portrait of society that remains relevant today. Each character plays a part in shaping her fate, and the series mirrors the novel’s eight parts.
The series features eight staged portraits of the novel's protagonists. They are staged with attention to the subtle gestures, expressions, and objects that evoke each character’s complexities. The gestures can be read as frozen moments in time, which point to a past and a future.
Jana shoots on an analogue large-format camera. This slow, deliberate process mirrors the intense psychological inquiry at the heart of the project and aligns with the novel’s tensions between tradition and progress. Analogue photography also adds an element of serendipity: by deliberately embracing imperfection, some images are grainy, dark or opaque.
Next to the portraits hang mobiles made up of selected quotations from the novel that give additional context to each of the characters and critically examine the text from a female perspective. The words are machine-embroidered onto linen traditionally used for hand embroidery, mirroring the gendered handiwork the female characters turn to in moments of emotional introspection. Using a machine situates the work in the present.
A video installation titled Underwater Dance points to the psychological layers, what lies in between the lines of text. suspended piece of white lace. A video of dancing algae is projected through the fabric onto the gallery wall. The piece speaks to the fragmentation of Anna’s mind and an ever-present tension between her impeccable outer appearance and invisible inner turmoil.
Tolstoy believed that art’s purpose is to unite. Following in his tradition, Jana visualises the invisible and reveals the interconnected nature of humankind. Adapting the novel’s themes to our time, she explores whether Tolstoy’s ethics still hold value today.
Tolstoy suggests that the line between love and hate is very thin. The minute we move away from love, we take a step closer towards hate. It is an active and laborious choice to do good, be caring, be forgiving and act out of love rather than self-interest, envy, resentment and ultimately hate.
‘She anxiously searches for images to exist in a time when the loss of feeling dominates in many vital fields. With minimalism and psychological precision, Jana attempts to create a dialogue with a society of the past but at the same time she raises questions about the present and the future.’
Mare Spanoudaki, Preface to Jana’s photobook