STrUCTioN - Taschen

December 2012
The Tillmans portfolio
Life as Wolfgang sees it
Limited edition of 500 numbered and signed copies
Over a period of more than two decades, Wolfgang Tillmans has explored the medium
of photo-imaging with greater range than any other artist of his generation. From
snapshots of his friends to abstract images made in a darkroom without a camera or
works made with a photocopier, he has pushed the photographic process to its outer
limits in myriad ways. For this project, Tillmans turned away from the self-reflexive
exploration of the photography medium that had occupied him for several years by
focusing his lens on the outside world—from London and Nottingham to Tierra del
Fuego, Tasmania, Saudi Arabia, and Papua New Guinea. He describes this new phase
simply as “trying out what the camera can do for me, what I can do for it.” The
result is a powerful and singular view of life today in diverse parts of the world, seen
from many angles. Says Tillmans, “My travels are aimless as such, not looking for
predetermined results, but hoping to find subject matter that in some way or other
speaks about the time I’m in.”
XXL
Format
This Art Edition consists of 72 photos printed on 24 folded sheets, delivered in a
signed and numbered portfolio. Tillmans selected photographs from the book edition
and recontextualised them on 24 large format folded sheets, each sheet becoming
a large picture object with front, centerfold, and back. On some, the front and
back form a whole picture when unfolded. The artist also chose some details which
he enlarged to the full potential of information and detail available. Says Tillmans,
“This is the first time I’m doing an oversized publication; in this case, the sheets are
not bound—instead they stay light and it is almost like handling actual prints of
mine.”
This Art Edition includes some of the content of the corresponding book, as well as
some new photographs not featured in the book.
Wolfgang Tillmans. Neue Welt
Art Edition
Portfolio (72 photos on 24 folded sheets,
printed on 200 gsm natural woodfree paper
from the Italian paper mill Cordenons),
13.7 x 18.1 in.
978-3-8365-4221-0
$ 700 / CAD 800
,!7ID8D6-feccba!
— 62 —