Frauke Eigen

In my work, I seek to engage with the tradition of beauty found in simple forms. The concept of emptiness in Japanese aesthetics, which dates back to the 12th century, differs fundamentally from Western notions: in Japan, emptiness is an expression of ultimate insight and perfection, manifesting in a centuries-old culture of reduction and understated elegance. However, it is a misconception to equate “Japanese” simply with clarity, simplicity, or purism. While Japanese art is indeed unadorned and restrained, this simplicity is regarded as noble and elaborate, with irregularity and chance serving as essential features of Japanese aesthetics.

My black-and-white photographs do not tell stories; instead, they focus on structures and details-wall surfaces, facades, architectures, and textures. Through carefully selected close-ups, I aim to foreground only the essential, “emptying” the image to achieve a high degree of visual reduction. Rather than staging or dramatizing, my images are characterized by calm and concentration, allowing the subject itself to recede. The tight framing leads to an abstraction in which viewers are invited to contemplate the essence of the motif.

In terms of process, I consciously follow several Japanese principles. My work is shaped by a strong material ethic: I select heavyweight, matte baryta paper, make hand-printed enlargements, and use the Japanese mounting technique of rice starch pasting. This is an old craft, and I choose it not out of nostalgia, but because the tactile quality of the material is essential to me. Only in this way can I reveal the subtlety of tonal nuances and make emptiness in art palpable as a fulfilled emptiness-requiring the crafted object to possess its own quiet strength.