Thomas Demand

He creates and produces, out of paper and cardboard, full-scale models of empty, disembodied places, often loaded with social and political meanings, of which only their shell remains. After having photographed these models, he destroys them, only leaving behind their photographic reproduction. He thereby invites reflection on the images that make up our collective memory, as well as the trickery of the photographic medium and its use by the media. These works also link back to the images that inspire the artist: documents from historical, political, media or legal archives, the origin of which he prefers to keep secret. In 2008, he made a radical move in his practice, in a shift from the monumental to the intimate and the everyday. He began making paper models that reproduced photographs taken with his smartphone during strolls through his neighbourhood or on his travels. Although his images appear to reflect the real world, a closer inspection reveals that they are no more than fragile representations of it.

Thomas Demand presented a solo exhibition at the Fondation Cartier, in 2000. He was also invited to take part in Mémoires Vives in 2014 and in Les Citoyens at the Triennale Milano in 2021.