Wolfgang Tillmans

Aufsicht (yellow)

The work of German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans encompasses landscape, still life, and portraiture. His photographs seem to catch fleeting moments, but they are in fact carefully planned. In this aerial view of Tel Aviv, Tillmans manipulates the print to create an eerie yellow cast envelopes cityscape. While the light transforms the view and implies a unified urban experience, the dramatic optical effects distance the viewer from the scene. Despite the modernity of the architecture in the image, the golden hue of "Aufsicht (yellow)" resembles the tint of older photographs and suggests the multiple layers of history embedded in the city.

Wolfgang Tillmans (born 1968) lives in London
"Aufsicht (yellow)", 1999 (Ink-jet print)
Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York