Andrzej Steinbach. Gesellschaft beginnt mit drei

Any attempt at describing the situation unfolding in the Gesellschaft beginnt mit drei [Society Starts at Three] series is ultimately doomed to failure. Just when it seems that we’ve managed to grasp the entirety of the scene and to chart the trajectories of the three characters portrayed individually, something alters and the situation reconfigures itself. The suited blonde in the chair is suddenly standing up, wearing workers’ overalls, while her seat has been taken by a brunette in sweats and sneakers. At first glance, it is difficult to determine what the eye should be drawn to. Is this some sort of fashion shoot, or three separate, adjacent portraits? Andrzej Steinbach’s work deliberately accentuates the ambiguous; the photographer is primarily interested in scenarios that elude summarisation. The title of the series is by no means coincidental: it is a direct reference to the German sociologist Ulrich Bröckling’s seminal sociological treatise on trios in social relationships. The series can thus be considered an enactment of trying on different roles, different identities.

In Main Programme of Krakow Photomonth 2019