About the process ...

how artworks are created

All of my artworks are based on photography. This is MY media of expression. They are either from the analogue or from the digital process. I appreciate cameras with manual settings, which force me to absolutely concentrate on the process of taking photographs. I usually use my analogue 35mm camera of the 60s and my digital leica camera M type 262, but in some works I have also experimented with other analogue cameras such as a Holga medium format camera or a Polaroid instant camera.

Scanning analogue films and creating digital data.

All of the 'good' photographs are converted into digital data. This is necessary for my work: All of the photographs taken at any time, for any reason, in any project must be able to be linked in any possible new combination of images. I use small prints of the pictures for the selection.

Collecting photographs and creating combinations of pictures.

I browse my archive regularly to develop new series during sitting on the floor in the middle of many small-sized photo prints or by pushing the prints back and forth on my magnetic wall. This process can take a lot of time before the series is completed.

Choosing methods and materials.

For me, the artwork is not only the photograph itself but although its combination, its material and process of production. I create a concept with drawings in my notebook, decide if it will become an object, a framed pieces and/or a book/box, I check materials, define settings for the printing process and produce a dummy. All of the selected components are chosen to support the expression of the series perfectly.

Manual production and finishing for unique photographic art.

I developed several different methods to create unique artworks, e.g. by adding a special finishing, preparing material surfaces, or by printing on self-made paper. The selected method for a specific artwork depends on the intention of the art project and topic.

Some details about the methods:

• I create self-made paper in my studio. It consists of waste material of my own creation process. So, the number of papers which I can manufacture is extremly limited. Over months, I optimized the paper production to reach a long-lasting paper quality that I can process in my own printing process. The self-made papers can be identified by my specific watermark by backlight. Each pigment print on the self-made paper is unique. It is signed on the backside.
• I produce the pigment prints in my studio with a professional digital pigment printer. In combination to the self-made paper, the artworks are 100% self-made. Some series are made with other papers and are organized in editions. In this cases, I influence the production process based on the specialties of the paper to create some unpredictable variations in each copy. An edition means that the image will be produced in this way x times (+ an artist's proof, AP) but there are minimal differences. The artworks of the edition are signed and numbered.
• I produce self-published books and boxes in my studio. They are highly limited and signed. One or two copies are APs. These copies will be present in book shows or art exhibitions. They can be touched and leafed through by everyone at the events. The copies for sale are untouched. Each of the copies looks a little bit different because of manual handling. You can choose your personal favorite out of the edition.

Presentation of the works.

The kind of presentation is an important part.

artworks. If framed, my artworks are allways framed in museum quality. The high-quality glass allows an unrestricted view of the artwork and protects the work from UV radiation. If they are not framed, I give support for choosing the best way of presentation.

art and book objects. They are presented on bases that I constructed and produced for exhibitions. Usually, they are not for sale but it is possible.