BIO
Oliver Basch was born 1980 in Milan (IT) and spent the first few years of his childhood here. At the age of five his family moved back to Berlin (DE) and this is where he spent the remainder of his childhood. Oliver got exposed to art from an early age and these frequent visits to art exhibitions and museums was what laid the groundwork for his lifelong interest in art.
Through his father’s avocational interest in photography the family albums also became a constant source of fascination for Oliver growing up. An interest that would later manifest in the project “Family album”. He got his first film SLR for his 18th birthday and he immediately started putting the camera to use. At this point it was mainly a way to keep memories alive, to hold on to them, but it marked the start of his passion and he would bring the camera with him almost everywhere he went.
After completing his A-levels Oliver did an apprenticeship in the hotel business, and as part of the course outline in marketing he found himself working with image processing. Although he was very interested in some of the aspects, he experienced an ever increasing frustration over having to work on other peoples photos.
During this time Oliver also started taking more deliberate photographs, outside the realms of everyday life, images for the sake of images rather than as anchors for memories. In the company of a friend he would go for walks in Berlin and take random photographs of the city. An activity that would constitute the first step on the path to becoming a photographer. After completing his apprenticeship a random encounter lead to on and off jobs as photo assistant.
Through these experiences Oliver’s interest in photography deepened and he decided to get a formal education. In 2007 he enrolled at the University of Arts London, Camberwell College of Arts and in 2009 he finished this education with a degree in fine arts. The years at Camberwell were a very transformative experience which made him analyse his art and articulate what he wanted to say with his images. A process eventually resulting in a formulation of his own artistic stance. After graduating from Camberwell Oliver has participated in exhibitions and publications, mainly in Berlin, and continues the explorations initiated by the gift he got on his 18th birthday.