untitled (#3147)

pigmentbased inkjet print mounted on cardboard

signed verso

In fall, the foliage period ends for most trees and they lose their leaves. They no longer receive any nutrients, dry out and fall off. They become deformed, curl up and take on a new appearance. They lose their individuality as leaves and become a pile of leaves on the ground. But the shape of these decaying leaves is waiting to be discovered. The photographer's intention is to capture this variety of forms of withered autumn leaves and to stage each leaf like a sculpture. Although the leaves of a tree species follow common rules when they dry out, external circumstances and the characteristics of the individual leaves lead to clear differences. Ultimately, each leaf has its own individual appearance and form.
Photographs from the series Verfallsdatum erreicht were presented for the first time in 2008. In the exhibition of the same name in 2023, the photographs were presented in a community center in Rosenheim untitled, although Heinz-Martin Weiand himself uses titles for many of the photographs. This leaves it up to the viewer to interpret the forms. After all, it is a vital characteristic and strength of human beings to recognize supposed faces and familiar beings or objects in things and patterns – so-called pareidolia. In this way, names and sometimes human characteristics and emotions are assigned to the "dead" leaves. The leaves become individuals and are given a second life. For Weiand, it is a fascinating combination of visual perception and translation into something tangible and nameable.
(Heinz-Martin Wieand)