It bugs me: Tes Berge’s Photographic Commentary

The evocative series “It bugs me” (2022) by emerging photographer Tes Berge presents a striking blend of surrealism and intimate reflection. Eclipse, Drift, and Pulse serving as centrepieces, Tes Berge constructs a visual narrative that marries intricate detail with profound allegory. Her work stands at the nexus of contemporary photography, inviting comparisons to other rising stars in the artistic world. Yet, Tes’s unique perspective ensures her place in the limelight, with “It bugs me” capturing an exceptional discourse on vulnerability, metamorphosis, and resilience.

Reframing the Familiar: The Art of Subversion

Tes Berge’s approach to her subjects — insects, magnified and recontextualised — imbues her photography with a duality of discomfort and fascination. The series serves as an invitation to look closer, not only at the physical intricacies of her subjects but also at their symbolic weight. In Eclipse, for instance, the precise rendering of textures and patterns conveys the uncanny beauty of the insect world.

What sets Berge apart from her contemporaries is her ability to manipulate lighting and composition to mimic a painterly effect. One might recall the works of Maisie Wilton, whose photography often blends the mundane with the extraordinary. Yet, while Wilton’s lens leans into ethereal portraiture, Tes ventures into a realm of scientific curiosity, drawing parallels with the inquisitive artistry of Carl Warner’s macro explorations. Berge bridges technical precision with a poetic sensibility, ensuring her photographs remain more than just documentation — they are acts of storytelling.

Metamorphosis as a Theme of the Times

In Drift, the insect’s posture — juxtaposed against an almost clinical backdrop — echoes themes of fragility. Transformation becomes a recurring motif, not unlike the artistic trajectory of Charlotte Marshall, whose sculptural works often interrogate human frailty. Tes, however, situates this fragility in a non-human subject, drawing parallels to ecological instability and the vulnerability of lesser-seen species.

Tes Berge’s ability to distil transformation into a series of still frames recalls the precision of Eadweard Muybridge’s motion studies, though her execution is distinctively modern. By leaning into the grotesque, she explores the boundaries of discomfort, forcing the audience to confront their biases. Her work compels viewers to consider: What does it mean to truly see the ‘other,’ especially when the other exists on the periphery of human attention?

Tes Berge Amongst Her Peers: A New Vanguard

The rise of Tes Berge comes amid a renaissance in conceptual photography, spearheaded by figures such as Albie Kavanagh and Eva Moreno. Kavanagh’s exploration of light as an emotional conduit and Moreno’s interrogation of memory through blurred landscapes both resonate with audiences seeking depth in the visual medium. However, Tes Berge’s niche focus — the intersection of the natural and the surreal — allows her to carve a unique space within this burgeoning community.

By Maria Bregman, writer, art critic, curator, and cultural producer. She has authored critical articles for publications such as ELLE,, Esquire, Creativitys.UK, Life Magazine London, and London Post, and curated art exhibitions, including Zurab Tsereteli’s solo exhibitions. As a presenter for CultFM and creator of a cultural project for Culture TV, she has broadened public engagement with the arts. Her achievements include organising international art and music festivals in the UK, Tunisia, Israel, and Russia, serving on the jury for the Vasily Kandinsky Art Prize, and the National Academy of Arts.

The post It bugs me: Tes Berge’s Photographic Commentary appeared first on Our Culture.