Photo Installation by Janne Reuss coming to Akin Vitrine Gallery for CONTACT Photography Festival
Artist and Akin Yonge-St Clair member Janne Reuss and her installation Urban Sky. Photo taken at Remote Gallery.
‘Urban Sky’ by Janne Reuss,
in association with CONTACT Photography Festival
Date: May 23 - 31, 2026, viewable from the street 24/7
Location: Akin Vitrine Gallery, 1747 St Clair Ave W
We’re thrilled to welcome Akin Member Janne Reuss’ (@jannereuss) photo exhibition, ‘Urban Sky’, to the Akin Vitrine Gallery at the end of May. ‘Urban Sky’ is a conceptual installation as part of CONTACT Photography Festival 2026. The venue was chosen intentionally, since the work addresses how urban spaces confine and limit our vital space in nature. The vitrine will be illuminated at night, so the work will be visible from the street 24/7 during exhibition time.
In preparation for this exciting exhibition, we caught up with Janne to learn more about the installation and her artistic process.
Janne Reuss, Urban Sky, Install
Akin: “Tell us more about Urban Sky.”
Janne Reuss: “Urban Sky is part of a larger body of work titled ‘Replanted’, in which I ask the question: What happens to a tree when it is transplanted from its original habitat? Using the tree as a metaphor, this series explores themes of displacement, identity, and belonging. Nature—and the remarkable resilience of plants that survive and adapt in harsh environments—serves as my primary source of inspiration.
This conceptual installation brings together two layered photographs. One is a monochromatic image of a concrete wall scattered with dried leaves; the other is a vibrant, colorful image of a green tree set against a blue sky with clouds. The juxtaposition of these opposing images creates a visual and conceptual dialogue between the artificial and the natural, life and death, absence and presence.
The acrylic structure evokes both a planter and modern architecture. It functions simultaneously as a container, a window, and a barrier. Rolled and confined within this structure, the photograph becomes a sculptural body—compressed, held, and shaped by its enclosure.
The resulting poetic tension reflects the ways urban environments fractures our relationship with nature: limiting access to green and private spaces, confining growth, and reducing our experience of the natural world to fragments—often no more than a reflection of the sky caught in a window.”
Janne Reuss, Urban Sky
Akin: “What are you curious about right now?”
JR: “I'm curious to learn more and dive deeper into the world of plants, trees and roots. I'm also experimenting in creating more installations with new materials, so very curious about what I will find out in the process.”
Akin: “Do you have studio routines or rituals? What gets you in a creative mood?”
JR: “A typical ritual is to clean up or organize something before starting to work creatively; it is a way to create space and start from a sense of calm. I like to start my process slowly by creating a peaceful and focused mindset. Music helps me to get inward and connect to what I want to express.”
Akin: “What inspires you? Why?”
JR: “The source of my inspiration is multilayered like my art process. But the most important ones are experiences and memories. Beside this internal source I find my material when I'm travelling or wandering through the city or nature with my camera. Poetry has been a companion for many years as well.”
Akin: “What does your Akin studio mean to you?”
JR: “My Akin Studio means so much! I have a quiet space to work concentrated, experiment, and invite colleagues, collectors and buyers to see my work. I have been renting studios with Akin since June 2019 and have found incredible meaningful support from the amazing Akin Team. It is wonderful to feel part of an art community that is respectful, welcoming, inclusive and likeminded.”
Akin: “What advice would you tell your younger self about creating art? What have you learned?”
JR: “You will find your greatest power in being a creative soul. Don't ever let anyone or anything dim your light.”
Learn more about Janne Reuss’ work:
Akin Vitrine Gallery, 1747 St Clair Ave W