Ruudu Ulas (EE/UK/DE, b. 1987) is a visual artist based between London and Berlin. Her work focuses on the dynamics between individuals and their environment, highlighting the tensions and glitches that emerge at the intersection of public and personal spaces. Ulas holds an MA in Photography from London’s Royal College of Art, having previously studied at the Glasgow School of Art and Leipzig’s Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst. In 2023, she was selected as a New Talent by The Photographer’s Gallery, and in 2024 she joined the FUTURES network.
Started in 2021, Ulas’ ongoing Difficult Objects series maps how urban territories and domestic spheres collide and merge, creating oddly-shaped gaps. The project stems from the difficulty of articulating these glitches with words, presenting a perpetual narrative where images guide the viewer: each image navigates the territory between the familiar and the unknown, prompting reflections on our personal relationships with the ubiquitous structures of both public and private domains. In blending the ‘real’ with the ‘felt’, the series urges us to consider our place within these shared spaces.
Difficult Objects evolve with each display, challenging viewers – and the artist herself – to rethink connections between objects and experiences. In a game of scale and colour, Ulas creates emotional expanses which form a stage for our fears and anxieties, as well as for our optimistic hopes.
