Aglaia Konrad studies the development of the global metropolis, the expansion of urban agglomerations and the rise of the megacity in places as diverse as Sao Paulo, Beijing, Chicago, Dakar and Cairo. Konrad is interested in the social, economic, historical and political parameters that inform and underpin architecture and urbanism, as well as exploring the physical presence of architecture and building types, particularly those of the modernist genealogy. Focusing on the physical fabric of the built urban environment and the hyper-city, his lens-based practice meticulously captures and transcribes its viral quality and alienating sense of the spectacular, while always maintaining an objective distance.

Iconocopycity, 2011

Iconocopycity is an installation of enlarged copies of his monograph Iconocity (2005). It is an associative photographic adventure through urban spaces, brought together in a visual essay. The juxtaposition of copies on the same surface generates an alternative urban landscape. As the lid of the photocopier was left open during scanning, black bands were created. These add a new rhythm to the photos. In this way, Iconocopycity reveals the contradictions between the architecture of a book and real space. For Aglaia Konrad, photography, the book, the copy and the exhibition device are always intrinsically linked.