Lukas Birk

Lukas Birk is an Austrian photographer, curatorand publisher. He is best known for his visual archivework in Myanmarand his research on Box Camera photographyin Afghanistan.

Birk has worked on photographic projects, films and visual research in China, South- and South-East Asia and the Indian Sub Continent.

He has published numerous books on visual culture and photographic history. He co-founded the Austro Sino Art Program in Beijing, China and SewonArtSpace in Yogaykarta, Indonesia.

His research project Afghan Box Camera Project received major acclaim in the photographic community. He founded Myanmar’s first public photo archive with an accompanying publishing program; the Myanmar Photo Archive. His imprint Fraglich Publishing focuses on the visual culture publications and limited edition prints.

Kafkanistan

Birk’s first major body of work Kafkanistan – tourism to conflict areas(2005-2008) with Irish ethnographer Sean Foley explores the activities of tourist in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas. The research resulted in a feature film, exhibition and book.

Kafkanistan is an inside look at a remote, beautiful, and misunderstood region of the world. -- Reza Akhlaghi, Foreign Policy^[1]

Austro Sino Arts Program / China

Birk, studied Digital Art and Photography at the University of West London and moved to Beijing after completion of his Bachelors in 2007.

Alongside Austrian artist and professor Karel Dudesek, Birk co-founded the Austro Sino Arts Program (ASAP). ASAP operated out of Beijing between 2008 and 2014, organizing exhibitions, film festivals and publications. The program showcased the work of non-Chinese artists who worked in China and produced artist’s perspectives on China.

In his years in China, Birk founded a commercial photography studio, taught photography and exhibited his artworks widely. He produced a series and monograph titled Polaroid’s from the Middle Kingdom.

SewonArtSpace

In 2011, Karel Dudesek and Birk founded SewonArtSpace in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. SewonArtSpace is a non-for profit art space and residency program hosting primarily Austrian Artists, and connecting them to the local art scene in Yogyakarta, one of South East Asia’s most thriving art cities. The project received funding from the Austrian Chancellery office.

Afghan Box Camera Project

In the same year Birk returned with his colleague Sean Foley to Afghanistan to investigate the last remaining Box Camera photographers working on the streets of Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan. They conducted research trips between 2011 and 2014 resulting in an Online Archive, the book Afghan Box Camera(Dewi Lewis,UK 2013) and the book Photo Peshawar(Mapin, India, 2017). Birk and Foley coined the term Afghan Box Camera and Kamra-e-Faoree, two descriptions for Box Camera photography that have become household names in the photography scene. This was primarily through the wide spread media coverage, open source films and how to build an Afghan Box Camera manual published on social media and their own platform. Their manuals have inspired a new generation of Box Camera photographers globally.

Myanmar Photo Archive

Birk started collecting photographic material and conducting research on photographic history in Myanmar in 2013. Since than he has founded the first public photographic archive focusing on local Myanmar visual history; The Myanmar Photo Archive (MPA). MPA is organizing exhibitions with the materials in the archive, currently 20.000 images, and has started a photo book publishing program in Yangon. The books are published in English and Burmese and distributed locally and internationally. The archive has received major funding from the British Library, the Goethe Institute Myanmar and the European Union in Myanmar.

Publications & Monographs

Kafkanistan - tourism to conflict zones Lukas Birk and Sean Foley. Fraglich Publising, Austria /Glitterati Inc., USA, 2008/2012. ISBN978-0985169626
Afghan Box Camera Lukas Birk and Sean Foley. Dewi Lewis Publishing, United Kingdom, 2013. ISBN 978-1907893360
Polaroids from the Middle KingdomLukas Birk. Glitterati Inc., USA, 2014. ISBN 978-0988174566
35 Bilder KriegLukas Birk. Fraglich Publishing, Austria, 2015. ISBN 978-3-9502773-7-1
Photo Peshawar Sean Foley and Lukas Birk. Maping/Pix Publishing, India, 2015. ISBN 978-9385360466
Burmese Photographers Lukas Birk. Goethe Institut Myanmar, 2018
Gülistan Lukas Birk and Natasha Christia. Fraglich Publishing, Austria, 2019
FERNWEH – a man’s journey Lukas Birk. Fraglich Publishing, Austria, 2019. ISBN 978-3-9502773-0-2

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Editorial Work

Austro Sino Arts Program and SewonArtSpace

MiFan米饭, Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2009 ISBN
DaBao带走, Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2010 ISBN 978-3-9502829-1-7
ChuenMen泉门, Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2011 ISBN 978-3-9502829-2-4
DaZiBao大字报, Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2012 ISBN 978-3-9502829-4-8
Left/right 左/ 右 , Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2013 ISBN 978-3-9502829-3-1
The Gallop of the Courser 骏马飞驰, Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2013 ISBN 978-3-9502829-9-3
Refuse the shadows of the past; 5 years Austrian Art Made in China. Austro Sino Arts Program, Beijing, 2013 ISBN 978-3-9502829-3-3
To Know The Unknown, SewonArtSpace, Indonesia, 2015 ISBN 978-3-9502829-7-9

Myanmar Photo Archive / Fraglich Publishing

ONE YEAR IN YANGON 1978. Myanmar Photo Archive, Yangon, 2017 ISBN978-3-9504079-8-3

· U Than Maung, the No 1 Amateur Photographer. Myanmar Photo Archive, Yangon, 2018 ISBN978-3-9504079-0-7

· REPRODUCED, rethinking P.A. KLier & D.A. Ahuja. Myanmar Photo Archive, Yangon, 2018 ISBN978-3-9504079-1-4

· My Universe by BayBay,Myanmar Photo Archive, Yangon, 2019 ISBN978-3-9504079-2-1

· Irene – A Burmese Icon,Myanmar Photo Archive, Yangon, 2020 ISBN978-3-9504079-4-5

· Yangon Fashion 1979 – Fashion=Resistance. Myanmar Photo Archive, 2020 ISBN 978-3-9504079-3-8

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Notable exhibitions

· 2009 Kafkanistan, AArt, 798 Art District, Beijing, China 

· 2010 Kafkanistan, Kastiel, Tel Aviv, Israel 

· 2013 Kafkanistan, Musem der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria

· 2014 Afghan Box Camera Project, LianzhouFoto Festival, Guangdong, China 

· 2018 Burmese Photographers, The Secretariat, Yangon, Myanmar

· 2018/2019 Travelouge Sammlung Trilogy, Galerie Hollenstein, Lustenau, Austria / TransformArt Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia / NoksArSpace, Istanbul, Turkey

Collections

Birk’s work is held permanently at the

· Federal Collection Austria

· Regional Collection Vorarlberg, Austria

^ admin (2012-11-06). "KAFKANISTAN: Ventureing into Unknown Places". Foreign Policy Concepts. Retrieved 2020-05-28.

[1] (2012-11-06). "KAFKANISTAN: Ventureing into Unknown Places". Foreign Policy Concepts. Retrieved 2020-05-28.

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