Von der Brüchigkeit des Seins

The jury of the Stuttgart Media University found the photographic quality of the work of our image author Amin El Dib exemplary and awarded him the German Photo Book Award in silver in the category "Conceptual Artistic Photo Book". For three years, the Swiss photo artist Amin El Dib photographed the plaster casts of ancient sculptures in the Basel Sculpture Hall, which are gathered there for study purposes. The photographer was less interested in the precise reproduction of beautiful figures than in the situation of a collection in a room, also and especially in moments of transition from accommodation to presentation. It is often details that challenge El Dib to take pictures, old and new damage to otherwise perfect sculptures. Since the plasters themselves are not painted, their material coloration, from white to yellow, is thematized in contrast to that of the space - from red walls to white ceilings to the coloration of the lamps. For the story of the collection of plaster casts of ancient sculptures is that of a medium, and thus follows a dynamic that El Dib similarly repeats for his own medium of Fotografie.