This playful new series explores the quirks of German idioms, their origins, and their often-unexpected English translations. Born in 1989 in the Black Forest to a German father and an English mother, Alma Haser grew up bilingual—sparking a fascination with language, wordplay, and the poetic absurdity of literal translations.
German sayings, when translated word for word, often take on a strange, dreamlike quality. Expressions like “We are sitting beautifully in the ink” (To be in trouble through one’s own fault) or “To have a tomcat” (to have a hangover) offer Haser a wealth of surreal imagery to explore. Embracing these linguistic oddities, she transforms them into visual interpretations that blend humour, history, and imagination.
A defining feature of Haser’s practice is her ability to merge photography with sculptural techniques. Many of the works in this series take shape as three-dimensional pieces, playing with folds, layers, and structures that bring language to life. Haser attributes her sensitivity to the fluidity of words, in part, to her dyslexia—an influence that fuels her inventive approach to language and image.
This project not only celebrates bilingualism but also reimagines language as a visual medium. Expanding on the literary tradition of absurdist wordplay, Haser creates a tangible world where the ordinary becomes bizarre and the absurd is presented as reality.
“My process for this project involved translating each idiom from German to English, often reforming the literal definition to create something new and absurd. The manipulation of the image throughout the work mirrors the evolving nature of the idioms themselves.”
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