'HYSTERIA' - Cooper & Gorfer captivate with collages at Fotografiska Berlin – and discuss art, chaos & identity in the GoSee interview
With HYSTERIA, Fotografiska Berlin moves beyond the boundaries of a traditional photography exhibition to create an emotionally charged, sensory experience. The artist duo Cooper & Gorfer invite viewers into a richly layered universe where tenderness meets rage, myth interweaves with memory, and visual storytelling becomes a site of introspection, resistance, and transformation.
Sarah Cooper (USA/Sweden, b. 1974) and Nina Gorfer (Austria, b. 1979) have worked together as an artist duo since 2006. While Cooper was trained in classical photography, Gorfer studied architecture under Zaha Hadid at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Together, they have developed a unique visual language that merges photography with painting, collage, textile art, and video.
At the heart of their practice lies the portrait – especially the female portrait – as a mirror of cultural identity, memory, and belonging. Their images emerge through a layered interplay of photographic fragments, textures, materials, and personal narratives. For each project, Cooper & Gorfer travel extensively, working closely with the women they portray, embedding their stories in emotionally charged visual worlds.
In HYSTERIA, Cooper & Gorfer push the boundaries of painting, collage, and photography. They construct monumental female figures in various states of transformation – inspired by the mythological power of immortal goddesses. The result is a fictional dynasty of women: a symbolic tribe born from an imagined archive of female forms. The origin of these hybrid bodies draws from the surrealist game Cadavre Exquis, in which a collaborative image is created by drawing on two hidden halves. Likewise, Cooper & Gorfer’s figures share limbs and features – they are composed of multiple women simultaneously. Bursting beyond the frame, the figures become giants – powerful, enigmatic, and complex.
In their interview with GoSee, Cooper & Gorfer offer deep insight into their artistic practice — speaking about the creative power of chaos, unexpected encounters on their travels, and why their portraits can sometimes reveal more about identity than words ever could.
If your portraits could speak – would they whisper, scream, or sing? And what do you think they might tell us about identity that you yourselves couldn’t quite put into words? Cooper & Gorfer: They would sing, but in a strange and layered harmony — one where dissonance and beauty coexist. Our work grounded in the idea that identity is never singular or fixed. That we are fluid, fragmentary beings, and that we are forever becoming. Our portraits embrace these contradictions comfortably, allowing them to express the complexity of selfhood in a way that words often cannot.
Your works are composed of many fragments and body parts – have you ever accidentally given someone an extra leg? Or to put it differently: how much chaos does a good artwork actually need? Cooper & Gorfer: There’s always a little chaos in the process — it’s part of the alchemy! Every composition contains a hundred small decisions that feel almost like chance encounters. Occasionally, a figure may sprout an extra limb during our collage process, bringing an unforeseen element that opens new interpretations and new ways of seeing. We definitely embrace this playful disorder, even, or maybe precisely because we are real control freaks when it comes to composition. A bit of chaos allows room for surprises and can breathe life into a work. It reminds us that beauty rarely arrives without a touch of messiness — and a hint of the imperfect.
You travel widely, collecting stories and turning them into visual narratives. Was there ever a place or moment that completely threw you off – in the best, most inspiring way? Cooper & Gorfer: We often seek places that shift our understanding — from rural villages in Kyrgyzstan to remote corners of Iceland or the wide, open landscapes of Argentina. Our journeys grow out of a deep curiosity for people’s stories and collective memories, and they depend on long conversations and collaborations with those we photograph. One experience that stayed with us was meeting families from the Mapuche community in Northern Argentina, where, as two white women from Europe and the US, we suddenly found ourselves representing a painful colonial past. We were deeply humbled by this realization. That encounter dissolved our expectations of what the trip would yield and reshaped our process for the entire series.
What role do you think art plays today in helping us navigate complex emotions and collective memories, especially through a medium as layered and multifaceted as your collage work? Cooper & Gorfer: Art gives us permission to hold contradictions. In our artistic practice, we use collage to mirror the way we experience the world: through fragments, glimpses, and overlapping histories. In turbulent times, this feels especially vital. Our layered compositions allow personal stories to merge with archetypes, the collective experience, and cultural memories, creating a visual space where the complexities of human life can surface. It’s less about providing answers and more about creating a sanctuary for nuance – a place where we can face our emotions and histories with honesty and empathy.
Cooper & Gorfer: We’re thrilled to take you behind the scenes of one of our most ambitious artworks, in our new exhibition, Hysteria. This monumental collaged work isn’t just a highlight of the show — it’s also the largest piece we’ve ever created. Its sheer scale made it a bold and challenging project. This short documentary captures the effort, creativity, and dedication that went into bringing it to life. ––– The Twin Altar
Cooper & Gorfer – HYSTERIA
13. Juni – 12. Oktober 2025, Fotografiska Berlin
CREDITS
Artist Satoko Arms, 2022 © Cooper & Gorfer
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