The exhibition shows photographs from the ARCHETYPES series by the Canadian artist David K. Ross, who works at the interface of photography, film, and installation. His images stage the original-sized building fragments, so-called mock-ups, at night on the construction site with dramatic lighting. Isolated from their surroundings, the structures appear out of scale and become archetypal architectures.
Foster + Partners, Photo by David K. Ross
The photographs change the way we view the practice of architecture by documenting and framing the normally invisible aspects of its creation. Built to full scale, these architectural fragments -removed from sites as buildings approach completion- ensure that a project can be executed exactly as designed. The task of mock-up documentation is usually left to architects and contractors, who take quick snapshots for reference during site visits. ARCHETYPES is the first photographic compilation of its kind that goes beyond a purely artistic record of building technologies and typologies. Instead, the photographs encourage us to reflect on the significance of the pre-construction of building fragments in all their complexity. The recently published book accompanying the exhibition ARCHETYPES illuminates the historical, technological, and cultural dimensions of the mock-up in four essays.
Behnisch Architekten, Caruso St John Architects, Christ & Gantenbein, Foster + Partners, Gigon/Guyer, Gramazio Kohler Research, Hertzog & de Meuron, Mathers and Haldenby, Matteo Thun & Partners, Morger Partner Architekten, Morphosis, NADAAA, Perkins Eastman/S9 Architecture, Snøhetta, SO-IL, SOM, Steven Holl Architects, Valerio Olgiati, u.a.
24.7.-20.8.2021
Architekturgalerie München im Kunstareal, Türkenstraße 30, 80333 München
Gramazio Kohler Research, Photo by David K. Ross
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