Interested in exploring “the ephemeral poetry of time,” artist Fabian Oefner focuses on capturing and conveying movement in his photographs. This emphasis on energy is apparent in most of the Swiss creative’s awe-inspiring work, including his colorful sound wave studies, stills of bursting bubbles, and—most recently—a shattering series of Explosion Collages.
Each black-and-white photo featured in Explosion Collages appears to depict the dramatic moment it is destroyed by a single gunshot. Shredded paper and particles of debris delineate the bullet’s apparent path as it strikes through the object.
While seemingly authentic, the damage done to each piece is actually executed by the artist. By cutting and rearranging the photographs into captivating collages, Oefner freezes a fleeting—and fabricated—point in time and space. “What seems to be a genuine photograph of an ephemeral moment is in fact just an illusion,” the artist explains, adding that each photo “shows a real yet nonexisting moment in time.”
Furthermore, though many contemporary collages are produced digitally, Oefner creates his entirely by hand. In addition to accentuating each piece’s alleged authenticity, this approach illustrates the artist’s interest in reimagining a three-dimensional work of art and signifies a “return to the photograph as a physical object.”
Fabian Oefner’s ‘Explosion Collages’ features portraits that look like they’ve been shot.
Oefner achieves this aesthetic by meticulously cutting and rearranging each photograph into a visually perplexing portrait collage
Fabian Oefner: Website | Inst
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Fabian Oefner.
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