Existing as a platform for artists whose work is united through a common thread; 3is3 Identity, explores — as the collectives name suggests — the theme of identity. In its current exhibition, Ubiquitous Grounds, at London’s The Strand Gallery, four very different and distinct artists, Tom Kavanagh, Tim Deussen, Simon Slipek and Christian Kraatz, offer differing perspectives on the relationship between people and places; where each artist questions how we’re ‘defined and shaped by where we live, the ways we’re bound to places, the meaning we give to them and how much space an individual needs.’

Above From Dwelling, by Tom Kavanagh. (©Tom Kavanagh/Courtesy of the photographer/3is3 Identity).

In his stark minimal images, London-based Tom Kavanagh, concentrates upon the physical space and the objects found within, in his series, Dwelling. Here we encounter mass-produced domestic commodities that are both functional and decorative; with each item easily purchased at any high street store, yet holding unique ‘meaning and memory for an individual who has lived with them.’ In these images, which are loaded with nostalgia, each photograph encourages the viewer to dwell on one’s own past, and the objects of daily life within it.

Above My Heart changes with history, by Simon Slipek. (©Simon Slipek/Courtesy of the photographer/3is3 Identity).

Working in black and white for his series, Homeless, German photographer Tim Deussen, explores identity with a series of powerful, yet sensitive large-format portraits of the homeless that he encountered on the streets of New York in 1993. ‘Society does not want to see homeless people, but they are there, reminding us of the hardships of live that anyone can encounter in times of economic, social or personal uncertainty,’ writes Deussen, who utilises a neutral background for his formal portraits, the photographer removes his subjects from the context of the streets on which they live; drawing the viewers focus to the hardship of daily life that appears carved into their very faces and expressions.

Above We Refuse to Be Enemies, by Christian Kraatz. (©Christian Kraatz/Courtesy of the photographer/3is3 Identity).

Having begun in New York, Hanover born Simon Slipek’s, My Heart changes with history, explores the American dream in a gritty documentary series produced on the cities streets, and continues in Berlin where he now lives and works, a city full of history and constant flux; and in these two distinct chapters of My Heart changes with history, he reflects on the individual cities’ and their varying ‘spirit,’ and tells the stories of those that make their homes in these metropolitan spaces. Christian Kraatz also works within the genre of documentary photography, and in his series We Refuse to Be Enemies, he examines the effects of exterior influences in forming identity on the Nasser family who live and work on Dahers vineyard, on Jerusalem’s West Bank. ‘With Israeli destruction orders, road blocks and denial of access to electricity and drinking water. Regardless of ownership documents dated back to 1924 they have been struggling to prove their right to occupy this land for 18 years,’ writes Kraatz. In these colour photographs we experience the impact of suppression on both the physical space that the Nasser's occupy, as well as their lives.

Ubiquitous Grounds is at The Strand Gallery, London, until 29 February 2011.