Jürgen Klauke

The Völklingen Ironworks flooded in red light
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Oliver Dietze

Juergen Klauke2

Juergen Klauke2
Copyright: Tom Ordelman | CC BY-SA 3.0

Born in 1943 in Kliding, Germany
Lives and works in Cologne, Germany

Work

Toter Photograph | Dead Photographer

1016 343 Juergen Klauke Toter Photograp

1016 343 Juergen Klauke Toter Photograp
Copyright: Courtesy Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman Innsbruck/ Wien

Jürgen Klauke uses X-ray technology to explore themes of control, identity and death. Like luggage on an airport security conveyor belt, his curved body, camera in hand, is X-rayed and appears as a skeleton wrapped in clothing with feminine connotations, as though buried alive in an archaic sacrificial ritual. Created in 1988/1993 in the wake of the 1987 census and the debate about the 'transparent human being', this self-portrait in the X-ray shaft combines performative photography with a critical view of the surveillance societya concept whose relevance remains unbroken to this day.