"Raimund"

C-print (Lambda print), 23 karat leaf gilding

signed and dated on label on verso

The photographs in two thousand and twelve are biometric images, as required for children from birth for passports in the European Union since 2012. What appear to be portraits of children are, strictly speaking, abstract, numerical data without individual expression. Our view of the photographed face no longer plays a role. The pictorial character of the face is undermined by automated face identification. The face is no longer a mirror of identity, but a store of information.
The gold-plated wooden frames are in the so-called Cassetta style. This type of framing originated in the quattrocento in Tuscany and is now called a Renaissance frame in frame manufacturers. In the 16th century this style of framing was already widespread from southern Europe to the Netherlands and was often used for portraits. The portrait art of the 15th and 16th century reflects the humanistic world of thought of the Renaissance and is inseparably linked to the modern idea of individuality.
(Robert Waldl)