Wolfgang Tillmans

Similar to his Freischwimmer series, the Paper Drop series also fall into the the category of Abstract pictures. These set of images follow the idea of the process and the materials used in photography, for Tillman there is no separation between the image and the paper on which its processed. “For me, the abstract picture is already objective because it's a concrete object and represents itself,” Tillmans says; “the paper on which the picture is printed is for me an object, there is no separating the picture from that which carries it. That's why I like to show photographs sometimes framed and sometimes not, just taped to the wall.”

 

These are sculptually shaped 'paper drops' created from rolled up light-sensitive paper, often with an image already printed on the surface. The direction of light striking across the highly saturated color make the image appear like an Abstract painting, however with the slight curve, fold, and crease they obtain the dimensions of a sculpture. The universal theme? Its the pure elements of photography: the light-sensitive paper, printmaking, drawing with light, as well as developing. The central idea is not what is depicted, rather it shifts a focus towards the making and viewing.