josef chladek

on photobooks and books

Stefan Scherf - Das goldene Vlies, Self published, 2021, Wuppertal, Germany

Softcover, open binding, edition of 100 copies, desig by Stefan Scherf, Wolfgang Zurborn, text by Wolfgang Zurborn.

The subjetive perception of banal everyday situations forms the basis for this photographic work. Rooms, objects and people from the personal and public environment are detached from their actual functionality and appear in new, surreal contexts. The result is a pictorial story that does not follow any narrative logic, but which nevertheless seems familiar to us because it shows what we all see every day but often perceive only unconsciously.

The Golden Fleece is a glimpse into the raw analog fractures of our modern digital society. The face of a woman on a photo booth in an urban space seems like a remnant of warm-hearted humanity in a cold environment, a surveillance camera watches if someone approaches a deck chair without permission. And even a golden-yellow woolen blanket, „The Golden Fleece“, on the shoulders of a woman in a pink sweater takes on a whole new meaning in memory of Greek mythology.

"We are constantly flooded with media images that tell us what is important and significant. The banalities of everyday life, however are the last taboo because they are not a subject we normally want to deal with. But it is precisely in these items that the values of social coexistence become more visible with all their paradoxes." (Wolfgang Zurborn)

https://www.scherfphoto.com/buch-das-goldene-vlies/

Pages: 104
Place: Wuppertal, Germany
Year: 2021
Publisher: Self published
Size: 21 x 30 cm (approx.)