A photograph of the prolific artist's unexpected reshuffling of the Walker Art Gallery is the most Loved this week
Wolfgang Tillmans’ work refuses to be contained by the finite limits of a canvas. Instead it bounds across genres, spaces, and, in this very specific example, the walls of an art gallery. It’s an inspiring thing to look upon, and after its selection by AnOther photographic editor Holly Hay this week, this photograph become the most Loved image of the week.
The featured series was made when Tillmans was invited by the Liverpool Biennial to respond to the impressive collection of art housed in the Walker Art Gallery. It was an open brief, and an invigorating one for an artist like Tillmans; rather than create a two-dimensional portrait or landscape based on the collection, the artist reshuffled the rooms themselves to insert his own abstract works into its spaces, creating an experiential and cohesive installation piece.
By removing works in rooms populated by traditional art, Tillmans uncovered many years worth of hanging and rehanging, thus impressing upon the viewer that he had added himself to the ongoing discourse around the distribution of art in the museum. The works he inserted were mostly richly coloured photographic pieces, or abstracts, and evoked common and unexpected themes which emerged with pieces on surrounding walls.
For example, an abstract photograph by Tillmans, which bears marks created by partial exposure in the darkroom, was placed next to a stunning Turner, whose was scarred with creases from having been found rolled up in the back of Turners' studio. Or, as above, a photograph by Tillmans of a crumpled pink T-shirt hung carelessly over the back of a chair. seems to draw out the warm, undulating pink tones of swathes of silk carved out in oils on neighbouring works. The connections between the old and the new, in these circumstances, feel all the more beguiling for their unpredictability.
This effect is compounded by the temporary nature of Tillmans' exhibit. Now, five years after its initial showing, the artist's complex curatorial endeavour survives only in photographs taken for documentary purposes, as this one was. His concept is powerfully ephemeral and yet, in his participation in the long-running history of the gallery, utterly timeless. Enchanted, we spoke to AnOther Magazine photographic editor Holly Hay to find out why she Loved this photograph of Tillmans's work this week, and to hear an unlikely tale of voyeurism in a similarly venerated environment...
Why did you Love this photograph of Wolfgang Tillmans’ famous intervention?
"I gives you that 'I wish I had thought of that' feeling, in a good way."
If this image belonged to you, where would you hang it?
"In my bedroom."
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever encountered in an art gallery?
"I went to the brilliant Metamorphosis exhibition at the National a couple of years ago, where a selection of artists had responded to Titian paintings. Mark Wallinger's piece was a bathroom installed in one of the rooms, with a nude woman bathing. You could see her though cracks in the doors and windows of the installation. When I suddenly noticed a bloke peering through and photographing the model, I felt a duty to tell the guard to remove this man, only to be told: 'Madam that is the artist, Mr Wallinger.'"
If you could remove one of the esteemed artworks from the walls of the National Gallery in London, and hang an alien object in its place, what would you choose to replace it with?
"Something by Mark Wallinger to say sorry for trying to get him kicked out of the gallery."
What's the most beautiful thing you’ve seen this week?
"I met brilliant photographer Matthieu Lavanchy this week, and can't stop thinking about his shadows project, created for PRAMMA."
What are you looking forward to this autumn?
"Sheepskin Birkenstocks."
What was the last thing you bought?
"Honey, so that I stop stealing social media editor Daisy Woodwards'."
