‘together apart’

Sisterhood is the unique bond that teaches us to be together even when miles apart; to fearlessly take steps together. Maria and Anna, setting aside their individual creativity, transform the concept of “separation” into “unity” in their work ‘together apart,’ finding a different image for everyday scenes and inviting us to establish new contexts and dialogues. This work, published in a single edition as two separate booklets, brings together the emotional weight of both togetherness and being apart.

Could you tell us about how the idea for ‘ritsch sisters’ came about and what motivated you to start this collaboration in the field of photography and art?

Maria: Since we were kids we had our way of creating together, of course in a very playful way, but it kept progressing over the years when we both started moving into photography and art for our careers. 

Anna: We always supported each other’s work through the years and kept a creative dialogue going despite living in different countries.  And whenever we were in the same place, visiting each other, traveling or the like we worked on creating projects together, mostly photography based. 

Maria: Beginning of 2020, I spent some time with Anna in New York and we both felt ready to explore this dynamic of working together in a more focused and ‘official’ way and we started the collaboration project ‘ritsch sisters’. 

Anna: I think we were both at a point in our careers where we were ready to explore what we can do together, how we can complement each other and further our vision as a team rather than as an individual. 

“Inspiration can be anywhere or anything and a lot of it is really just everyday life, what happens around us.”

-Anna+Maria Ritsch

Working internationally while being in different cities must present unique challenges. How do you manage to maintain a strong creative connection and effectively collaborate despite the physical distance?

Anna: It is indeed challenging working over distance, especially with the time difference and it requires us to be flexible but we manage pretty well. All the new technology makes it pretty easy to stay connected and we communicate almost every day.  And we do make sure to spend time together in the same place, especially for new projects and exhibitions. 

Maria: On the flip side it also has lots of positive sides having one of us in Europe and one in the US working internationally. We can split work, are able to broaden our network and having these two different perspectives is really influential and valuable to our work. 

The title of your collaborative series is ‘Together Apart.’ Can you elaborate on the concept behind this title and how it influences your creative process?

Maria: ‘Together Apart’ is an ongoing series between the two of us. 

This project came about very naturally and out of the necessity to find a form of methodology and practice, a common language for our work together while living on separate continents.  A work we can always go back to and pull from, a sort of foundation. 

Anna: It allows for openness and exploration of our individual experiences and to understand where we are in our lives at this particular moment, what we see and why for example certain motifs reappear in slightly different ways throughout our work. It is an ongoing series and also the title of our new photo book publication. 

Your work often explores the intersections of physical, spatial, and emotional elements. How do you approach these themes in your photography and art, and what draws you to these specific aspects?

Maria: I would say we are really interested in the human condition, in psychology, movement and body language and its relation to space. 

Anna:  We try to approach these themes in a very curious, open minded and nuanced way.  And we like to work with layers. Oftentimes our starting point is photography and from there we add layers of motion, sound, space, objects and so on.  

Maria: Space and the perception of space through our work is important to us as through this we hope to create an emotionally perceivable space for the viewer.

Could you share some insights into your creative process when developing new photographic pieces? How do you decide on the concepts and techniques to employ?

Anna: This really varies from project to project. Our approach is oftentimes very intuitive at its beginning and then moves into the stages of analyzing, researching, editing and so on. 

Maria: We are very open to using different mediums and depending on the nature of a specific project we decide what makes the most sense for us to work with. 

Anna: We like to work with traditional photography but also installation, video and are always looking for new ways of exploring the subject of visual storytelling. 

‘Together Apart’ involves creating new dialogues between your individual photographic works. Can you discuss how you curate and combine your images to form abstract poems, and what kind of narrative emerges from this process?

Anna: Each image has a title – spontaneous associations, memories, wordplays, a single word or a complete sentence, tapping into our subconscious to find them. Out of these ‘titles/ phrases’ we create the abstract poems you see in the book, building ambiguous stories and meanings.  

Maria: Once images are differently arranged these poems can change too. 

Perhaps the viewer can guess the title of an image, perhaps he connects a different one to it.  It is an invitation to be open and explore and find your own narratives within the visual compositions. 

Anna: The way the book is designed –  it being two book blocks within one book, adding a layer of togetherness and separation – we invite the viewer to explore parallel narratives, create their own connections or look at each book separately. There is no right or wrong here. 

How would you define sisterhood in three words?

Anna+Maria: Trust, power, championing.

“Space and the perception of space through our work is important to us as through this we hope to create an emotionally perceivable space for the viewer.”

-Maria Ritsch

What are your feelings when you are together and apart?

Anna+Maria: There is always the full range of feelings when together or apart! And of course we are always excited and joyful when we can be together in one place for a period of time after being apart for a while. 

Do you have a source of inspiration that has played a significant role in shaping your collaborative work as ‘ritsch sisters’?

Anna+Maria: Dance, architecture, film, and spending time together in nature – close to a body of water –  is a big inspiration and source for our collaborative work.  But for us inspiration can be anywhere or anything and a lot of it is really just everyday life, what happens around us. 

As artists, how do you see your work evolving in the future? Are there any new directions, themes, or projects you’re particularly excited to explore?

Anna: For exhibition works right now we are very interested in moving towards installation pieces, incorporating text, video, objects and exploring different ways of showing a body of photographic works. 

Maria: We are always striving to grow and evolve, and we definitely want to experiment more with various mediums. Currently we are very interested in the subjects of sisterhood, human touch and sound.