catching shadows

There's a fantastic exhibition going on at the V&A at the moment which sparked a lot of new ideas and inspiration for my project. "Catching Shadows" showcases works by photographers Susan Derges, Adam Fuss, Garry Fabian Miller and Floris Neusüss who all create photographs without the use of a camera. Instead they place the subject directly between the photographic paper and the light source. The results are a collection of thought provoking glimpses of what could've existed.

"My Ghost" series, Adam Fuss

This was one of my favourite photogram series by Adam Fuss. It's amazing how there can be so little information about the subject in the photogram, yet so much more emotion is captured compared to a normal photograph. This series "expresses the idea of a human presence that is lost but recalled momentarily by its traces, both physical and emotional."

Körperfotogramm, Floris Neusüss

Neusüss' works removes the objects from their physical context, encouraging the viewer to contemplate the essence of the form. Movement of the subject is captured in a way that allows the audience to engage in the world of abstract forms.

"Bin Gleich Zurück/Be right Back", Floris Neusüss

"Bin Gleich Zurück" is an installation of a chair stood on top of a photogram which retains the shadow of a person who was sitting on it. This installation especially caught my attention, as it plays with the notion of capturing something which has once existed; a moment in time which is now lost, yet so vividly captured in the essence of its form.

"Images made with a camera imply a documentary role. In contrast, camera-less photographs show what has never really existed. They are also always 'an original' because they are not made from a negative. Encountered as fragments, traces, signs, memories or dreams, these images leave room for the imagination transforming the world of objects into a world of visions."


It's like seeing the world in a completely different form. Like dreaming a reality which is questionable, a reality which is created by the audience's own thoughts.