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BODY OF WORK: HP ILFORD 100 DELTA, 2021
In traditional photography, material remains an invisible servant: the film vanishes behind the subject, operating in the shadows, strictly backstage within the creative process. Here, a radical role reversal occurs. The carrier itself steps into the limelight, becoming the protagonist. Its physical presence, the graphic numbering on the backing paper, and the inherent tension of the spool define the space.
The reduction to seamless black-and-white gradients dissects the essence of light: subtly graduated greyscale and deep shadows produce a sculptural harmony that invites prolonged, focused observation. The medium no longer depicts; it constitutes itself as an autonomous art object – an aesthetic dialogue between material form and conceptual order.
“From backstage to center stage: the medium as an art object.”
© 2021 Edin Mustafic – HP Ilford 100 Delta, 2021
Work note, Vienna 2021:
A true Sisyphean task. Taming the unruly coil of medium-format film and sculpting it until the curves and shadows aligned took countless attempts. Yet despite meticulous precision, chance had the final say: a subtle shift, an uncontrolled give in the material – and precisely that surrendered tension yielded the perfect, sculptural form.
A true Sisyphean task. Taming the unruly coil of medium-format film and sculpting it until the curves and shadows aligned took countless attempts. Yet despite meticulous precision, chance had the final say: a subtle shift, an uncontrolled give in the material – and precisely that surrendered tension yielded the perfect, sculptural form.