Characterized by abstraction of bodily movement, Isabelle Wenzel’s photos are distinctly iconic. Wenzel, born in Germany, formally studied art and photography. Her inspiration, however, derives from her training as an acrobat and a fearless childhood desire to fly. Wenzel’s images evoke an almost sculptural essence as the subject takes on stoic forms and poses. More often than not, the subject is Wenzel herself.

In these images, the focus isn’t on facial expression or specific identity. Instead, Wenzel shifts the focal point to emphasize movement; faces are obscured and legs are stretched out into acrobatic poses. Though Wenzel can capture these movements in one photo, there is a necessity for repetition. Through these poses and forms, repeated to create one of her images, a moment of performance art emerges.

Wenzel remarks that she is a person of action rather than speech. Her mind works through the memory of movement. She says, “I’m a person that doesn’t think in words much. My memory works through actions and images. I constantly collect images of my own movements, and I’m fascinated by the fact that photographs freeze moments in time.” Her images reflect her physically inclined thought processes.

While some of Wenzel’s earlier works are situated within the confines of studio space, Field Studies brings her photography and artistic vision into the open air. Wenzel writes, “Field Studies is an ongoing project on which I have been working since 2014. For this project, I have moved from a closed space to the open fields.”

She says that this transition to the outdoors was done to provide a fresh perspective and push the boundaries of her creativity: “Before, for more than five years, I was focusing mainly on finding endless photographic forms of a staged body at a studio set-up. But then I came to the point where I needed some change to trigger and renew my creativity,” she writes, “I was curious what would be happening if I escape from the studio and let my subjects breathe in wider spaces.”

The images are consistent with their acrobatic tendencies and abstractions. The change of scenery, however, adds an organic feel to the photographs. Though their movements and composition are intentional, the backdrops of flower fields, gravel roads, and wide, open skies evoke a naturalism that did not appear in the studio-based works.

Wenzel’s artistic lens is intriguing and refreshing. She presents a unique take on performance art and studio photography.