Wolfgang Tillmans: Lights (Body)

Wolfgang Tillmans, known for his epic photography, has also been working with video since 1993. He first exhibited Lights (Body) in 2002, a video representing the automated movements of the lighting systems in two different clubs. The dancing bodies are outside the viewpoint which focuses solely on the lighting systems, but the video was filmed on a full Saturday-night dance floor. The rising dust that falls under the light beams is the only physical sign of the dancing bodies.

In the word of the artist “The only signs of people are the odd reflections of dust particles that cut across the light beams and this particular union between abstraction and social content … ultimately a club is an extremely social place, a meeting place, an exchange of ideas and relationships, and it is also the place for an extremely beautiful abstraction”.

This exhibition is part of part It’s Just a Matter of Time, the programme of parallel activities for ARCOmadrid art fair, exploring the influence of Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996) on contemporary art practices. Wolfgang Tillmans’ piece brings to the project the context of the transformation of the individual body in the night-time sociocultural space par excellence.

The exhibition is curated by Alejandro Cesarco, Mason Leaver-Yap and Manual Segade.