Wolfgang Tillmans

First published 18 April 2020
Last updated 6 June 2023

Wolfgang Tillmans’ Frieschwimmer series was created using dry, cameraless analogue photographic processes. The artist used his hands to manipulate light to create the patterns on the paper during development. The colour was introduced into the images by way of Tillmans’ use of a colour head enlarger and C-type paper. Many art critics regard Tillmans’ work to be situated between observational and abstract photography, creating new narratives while offering a significant contribution to the overarching field of contemporary photography.

Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 16, 2003, c-type print on paper, 2395×1797mm

Relevance to practice

Alternative printing, Abstraction, Darkroom, Analogue, Experimentation, Technical, Paradoxical

Keywords

21st century, Art, Photography, Technology, Digital, Perspective, Arrangement, Exploration, Contemporary

References

Artspace Editors. 2016. “8 New Classics of 21st-Century Photography You Need to Know Now.” Artspace. 2016. https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/book_report/phaidon-photography-21st-century-list-53466.

Tillmans, Wolfgang. 2003. Freischwimmer 16. Image. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/tillmans-freischwimmer-16-p20284.