Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) showcases the work of Danish photographer Torben Eskerod (b. 1960), an artist who explores memory and transience. In portraits, especially, he seeks to capture the intangible: the energies that people exude, the experiences embedded in people’s faces and eyes.
FFF鈥檚 curator, Alison Nordstr枚m, frames the works as an investigation into the 鈥渟urfaces of the world鈥 to find out what lurks beneath and 鈥渢o emphasise the power of what cannot be seen, known or shown in its entirety.鈥 This is particularly true for the series Life and Death Masks (2001). Highly detailed masks stand in stark contrast to the undefinable blackness of the background. In combination with the larger-than- life format of the photographs (120cmx150cm), the subjects, come, strangely, to life. However, no matter how portrait-like and 鈥渢hree-dimensional鈥 the depictions, the personalities of the deceased remain sealed within the masks, behind their closed eyes. The power of the gaze (or its absence) is central to most of Eskerod’s portraits. Shots of hypnotists, healers, nuns or male friends in their 40s and 50s 鈥 half-way through life 鈥 seem to transport much more than a CV ever could.
The exhibition presents an unprecedented overview of Eskerod鈥檚 work to date in Germany, with 140 pictures from 22 series over the last 30 years. The show highlights, are undoubtedly, the many portraits that explore the human condition. However, some architectural and landscape images are equally compelling. For the series Marselis (2003), Eskerod photographed trees with outdated film, which resulted in surreal colours and a hazy-romantic atmosphere. Ultimately, we are offered a different kind of understanding on transience: less through the subject matter, but the material in use.
Fotografie Forum, Frankfurt 29 January – 9 May
Words: Marthe Lisson
Image Credits:
1. From the series 鈥淒ioramas鈥, 2015鈥2017. 漏 Torben Eskerod, 2022
2. From the series 鈥淢arselis鈥, 2003 漏 Torben Eskerod, 2022
3. From the series 鈥淐an Lis鈥, 2010 漏 Torben Eskerod, 2022
4. From the series 鈥淐an Lis鈥, 2010 漏 Torben Eskerod, 2022
