Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Since its invention, photography has been situated at the core of debates concerning whether the image represents reality or constitutes fiction.Depending on their modes of production, photographs have at times been perceived as representations of truth, while at other times they have been regarded as entirely constructed fabrications.This debate has become even more pronounced, especially in the digital age.The artistic practice of the German artist Thomas Demand offers a distinctive contribution to this discourse.By constructing environments and objects from paper and cardboard, photographing them only once, and subsequently destroying the models, Demand critically interrogates both the documentary function of photography and the reliability of visual memory.His works simultaneously expose the deceptive nature of memory and demonstrate that photography, beyond recording the past, can also operate as a vehicle for fictional representation.The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between photography and reality through the lens of Demand's oeuvre.Employing a qualitative research design, this study incorporates a comprehensive literature review alongside an analysis of the artist's interviews, conversations, and exhibition materials.The collected data are evaluated within the framework of representation, constructedness, and memory.Demand's works challenge the belief in photography as a transparent reflection of reality and invite viewers to critically reconsider the complex relationship between the photographic image and truth.His production processes, the ephemeral nature of his sculptures, and their systematic destruction after being photographed foreground both the transience of visual representation and the susceptibility of memory to manipulation.In this regard, Demand's practice constitutes a significant and concrete contribution to theoretical debates concerning the ontological status of photography.
Source: Journal of Turkish Studies
Author: Duygu KIZILDEMİR
Language: English
Topic: Photographic and Visual Arts
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7117300956