|
At dead of night
Andreas Gefeller was awarded the Peter Keetman Award for contemporary industrial photography in 2002. In his new book, Soma, Gefeller turns his lens on the holiday resorts of Gran Canaria, home to the palm tree and lager lout. But no louts, lagered or otherwise, to be found here. No sign of life in most of the colour images and weird lighting – black skies with apartment blocks and hotels apparently artificially lit. And that is because they are: photographed at night with long exposures by the light of street lamps and floodlights, swimming pools and sun loungers deserted, curtains drawn. ‘How real is reality and how true are its representations?’ asks the catalogue. The accompanying text is in both German and English, and comes from a selection of writers and philosophers as well as the photographer. Quotes from the likes of Ray Bradbury, Aldous Huxley and Douglas Adams are used as ‘captions’, which gives a clue to the surreal and science fictitious nature of the pictures. These are the holiday flats, pavements and pools as they are never seen, conjured by the process of photography and strangely attractive. Real? You’ll have to make up your own mind – and I am not sure the philosophers are particularly helpful on that one either.
Soma, by Andreas Gefeller, published by Hatje Cantz and distributed in the UK by Art Books International, £24.95, ISBN 3 77571 253 4.
|
|
|
