Terrasse, 1998 (left)

C-Print, Diasec

An important historical work, the 1998 Terrasse is one of only a few motifs relating to the artist’s personal life and is based on a photograph taken at a private party. The image depicts a space with chairs, tables, and two outdoor grills. The darkened space is illuminated by four paper lampions. On the table remnants of a human presence are visible, as if a gathering had been interrupted. The traces evoke the absent visitors and imbue Terrasse with a mysterious quality.

Kinderzimmer / Nursery, 2009 (right)

C-Print, Diasec

Thomas Demand used an old slide of his nursery made by his father as template for „Kinderzimmer“. In spite of that the artwork is not a documentation of his youth. Demand concentrated on certain aspects of the old motive and changed many details of the image. In that the artist cleaned the image from personal references and transformed it into a representative image of a West-German nursery in the 1960s.

Photo © Studio Hans Wilschut