Wolfgang Tillmans, WHAT’S WRONG WITH REDISTRIBUTION?, 2015

Wolfgang Tillmans’ “truth study centre” became a fixed part of his exhibitions since he first showed a version of the multi-part tabletop installation in 2005. Often arising from local circumstances and current issues at the time of their creation, the “truth study centre” works mark an endeavour to create a clear view in ever more confusing times.

Tillmans observed the paradigm shift that defines politics today early on. The scope and complexity of this project become apparent for the first time through this book, the second we have published, after “manual” in 2007, dedicated to this set of works. Over 320 pages, printed using a high-resolution technique, Tillmans presents an alternative chronology of the present. Far exceeding his original and main medium of photography, he juxtaposes a variety of contrary opinions, statements and comparisons on recurring table formats. The dimensions of the wooden tables, which he designed himself, are not arbitrary: they are built using standard British door panels, 198 cm long, and with one of four different standard widths.

This book gives an overview, through lavish reproductions, of this new form of collage, in which picture, text and object “are only kept in place by their own weight.” An essay by Thomas McDonough, Professor for Art History at Birmingham University, New York, places Tillmans’ project within the context of twentieth-century collage, from Hannah Höch to Robert Rauschenberg.

This artist’s book, produced by Tillmans’ Berlin atelier, includes a Fresnel magnifying glass, making it possible to zoom in on the contents and read even the smallest of printed texts. The largest installation of “truth study centre” to date will be shown in Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof beginning November 28, 2015.