About the photographer

Willi Dorner is an Austrian artist originally educated as a dancer and choreographer. His work bridges the gap between performing and visual arts, utilizing short films, videos, photography, and live performances. Dorner's practice focuses on urban interventions and artworks that explore various social and architectural contexts through diverse media, including digital animations and collaborations with artists and scientists.

Central to his research is the situational aspect of human beings in modern urban life and architecture. He investigates how constructions of urban identity in architecture, city-making, and planning are visually represented and how they influence people's perceptions of identity.

The exhibited works were captured in Tirana and Eskişehir and form part of a larger photographic collection reflecting urban identity. Tirana serves as the first city in this growing series, symbolizing an urban landscape in rapid transformation. The juxtaposition of old and new, along with unfinished structures, reveals a mash-up of qualities, materials, and styles. Humans staged in selected locations wear a blend of traditional and contemporary attire, embodying the complexities of this urban environment.

Dorner's works have been shown in notable exhibitions, including "Reenacting History" at MMCA in Seoul, Urban Playgrounds at ArtisTree in Hong Kong, ExtraOrdinary at The Lowry in Manchester, and Körper-Sport-Bewegung at Dt. HygieneMuseum in Dresden. His work has also been featured at Art Basel, the Saint Etienne Olympiades Culturelles in Paris (2024, "Ca bouge en ville! Sport et Architecture pour Demain"), Ming Contemporary Art Museum in Shanghai ("Body-Trail" short film), and The City Centre in London ("Urban Bodies").