State Paintings, 2008 – ongoing project
artist book
12 pages, leather cover, 45x58x5.7 cm;
fine art print on cotton paper 24 images each 20×30 cm
One’s passport as an officially binding legal document is proof not only of one’s personal identity but also of one’s nationality and, as such, an indispensable travel document to be shown at border check-points. The artist’s book State Paintings shows 24 enlarged details of the patterns from various countries’ passports. These detail shots change into images consisting of abstract decorative lines, which no longer have any recognisable link with their original function.
Stefanie Müller, HECTOR PROMOTIONAL PRIZE 2009, Exhibition Catalogue (Cologne: Wienand Verlag, 2009)
photos 1,3: Cem Yücetaş, installation view; Kunsthalle Mannheim
photos, 2,4: Günyol & Kunt, installation view; Römer9, Frankfurt
