Wolfgang Tillmans is a master at taking snapshots of seemingly normal realities but he brings them to life in creative ways. A lot of Tillmans images capture the happenings of one person's everyday rituals, to other people this can be extraordinarily different. Tillmans implies life in lifeless objects whether it be a piece of fruit or a pair of jeans. One of my favourite images is titled 'Grey jeans over stairpost, 1991'.
This image is striking in the way there is a lack of human presence but you can imagine the human presence that led to the composition of such an image. I can see in it the frnatic scrambling out of the jeans and other clothing items and the stumble up the stairs to a room less public, for private happenings. I think the abundance of light places the time of the photograph at the morning afterwards, which further implies lack of care for the state of the house, more important things were on these peoples minds, at least util the next morning.
All of this from a pair of jeans.
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| Grey jeans over stairpost, 1991 |
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| moonrise, Puerto Rico, 1995 |
Another image from BURG that I found breathtakihng is 'moonrise, Puerto Rico, 1995'. Firstly, in the book the image is a different colour to the one below. The globe in the sky is more of a yellow than an orange and the white t-shirt on the left is more green.
The image tells us that at least two people are experienceing this fantastic sight, appreciating the wonders of the earth; we are left to imagine the relationship of these two people. Which could be anything from best friends, to lovers, to a spontaneous pairing, they may have just met whilst searching out this marvel and from it may come a fantastic friendship.
Again, an image that is just a snapshot, a single frame in the life of someone, we are left to make up the rest of the story.
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