CONDENSED LIGHT

Thomas Weinberger's photographs surprise by the strange and surreal atmosphere they convey. Sharply defined, almost sculptural, they show industrial plants and urban landscapes devoid of any human traces.

These spectral images are the result of a distinct technique that Thomas Weinberger uses for his work process. The German photographer takes two pictures of the same motif, a day shot and a night shot, and superimposes them subsequently in order to obtain the synthesis of two different lighting situations. This superimposition of natural light and artificial light questions our usual perception of the world and creates a fictional or imagined temporality.

In this alienated reality darkness becomes embedded in light, and conversely light in darkness. Any ephemeral, instantaneous element, any trace of human presence disappears. What remains are empty places appearing as relics of a past human civilization.

As a former architect, Thomas Weinberger puts this discipline into the centre of his work. He explores urban architecture and chooses buildings, bridges, tracks, harbours and industrial plants as motifs of his photographs. Through his process of synthetis and through the static composition of his photographs, Weinberger adorns these banal places with a luminous aura and creates an eerie, fascinating atmosphere.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Cultural Centre presents Weinberger's work for the first time in France. The exhibition shows 28 large-sized photographs, taken in Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Australia and Dubai.

THOMAS WEINBERGER was born in Munich / Germany in 1964. He studied architecture at the Technical University of Munich and at Università di Sapienza in Rome. Between 1995 and 2001, he worked for several architectural firms and as a freelancer. At the turn of the millennium he began to develop his own photographic projects. Nowadays he dedicates himself exclusively to photography. He lives and works in Munich.

Curator: Jorge Calado

CONDENSED LIGHT
Photographs by Thomas Weinberger

Kurator: Jorge Calado