Short profile
Felix Brauner, born in Breisgau (Germany) in the year 1997, lives and works in Cologne. He has already shown his work in several exhibitions and is a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2020 he is a representative of the Regional Advisory Board in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the contact person of the professional association of freelance photographers and film designers (Berufsverband Freie Fotografen und Filmgestalter e.V.) for NRW.
About his collaboration with WhiteWall, he said: “Since I am busy with my work most of the time, I am grateful to have found a gallery-quality production for my images that takes care of printing, framing, and delivery. In addition, WhiteWall's web configurator gives me the best possible overview of what my work will look like when it's finished. That gives me reassurance and gives me time, which I can in turn use for my work.”
5 QUESTIONS TO FELIX BRAUNER
How did you get into digital 3D design?
In 2018 I started my own business as a freelance photographer and film designer in the field of reportage, portrait & experimental photography. However, after some time I realised that I could not realise my ideas with the camera the way I wanted to. Because here I can only present what exists outside of me. With digital 3D software computer-generated imagery" - CGI for short - I can express exactly what exists inside of me.
How is such an image created in the computer? How do you come up with the ideas?
I have to be prepared for new ideas at any time of the day. It can happen when I'm shopping, cooking or driving. Then I try to think through the individual ideas and work my way into the respective topics. To do this, I read books, watch documentaries, search in my brain archive for impulses and memories that are important. Once the idea has grown I realise it on the computer. To do this I create each element of the picture individually and then I put them together to a complete picture. This process is very time-consuming. But: In this way I can control every detail and tell the stories I want to tell. This corresponds with my need for creative security. Nothing happens by coincidence.
Process of creating an image - Photo by Felix Brauner.
Most of your work contains social and serious issues, what is your intention?
When I was 12, I discovered a book in my father's library about the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. Although many parts of the book were incomprehensible to me I was moved by this tragic disaster and drew apocalyptic landscapes. Today, I find many more reasons to draw attention to socially relevant conditions and developments. My intention is to question systems themselves. My own and the one I live in. Even if I have to leave my own and society's comfort zone.
An air vent being formed on the computer - Photo by Felix Brauner.
What advice can you give others in the field of CGI and digital art?
From my point of view we see an oversaturation with purely aesthetic images and videos on social media, blogs, and platforms of all kinds. But the concerns and fears of our time are not diminished by using the extremely valuable tool of creativity only to distract us from the difficult issues. Life is complex and often intangible. Here creativity offers the chance to make complexity visible whether with digital or analogue tools. Isn't it valuable to give other people an impulse, a reflection or a conversation in this way?
Art work of Felix Brauner hanging on a gallery wall - Photo by Felix Brauner.
Why WhiteWall?
Since I am busy with my work most of the time, I am grateful to have found a quality production for my images which takes care of printing, framing, and delivery. In addition, the WhiteWall web configurator gives me an optimal overview of what my work will look like when it is finished. This gives me security and time that I can use for my work.