- 148
Idris Khan (b. 1978)
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
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Description
- Idris Khan
- 'Every... Page of Roland Barthes' Book Camera Lucida', 2004
Digital C-type, mounted on aluminium. Signed, titled and dated in ink on the reverse. Framed.
Condition
A print in outstanding condition. Not examined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Idris Khan makes his reflections on seminal cultural artefacts by superimposing sequential members of series and in so doing changing their character to allow us to think. In Khan's hand a series of photographs takes on a blurry, wobbly quality which is close to hallucinatory. Sheet music becomes dense and solid. Here a book whose calm reason influenced him and many other photographers is fluid and has density, but has had to lose its legibility.
Khan's work owes something to the modern practice of appropriation. It is also rooted in the history of photography - one thinks of the early composites of Nancy Burson, superimposing series of faces to make one shared face of the group, or long before her, of the Paris criminologist in the years of the Commune, Alphonse Bertillon, making portraits of criminal types by extrapolating features from all the individuals in the series.
Khan goes far beyond these precedents in finding new emotions complementary to those he finds in his 'originals': his process is interesting enough, but his results are so much more than merely the outcome of the process.
Khan's work owes something to the modern practice of appropriation. It is also rooted in the history of photography - one thinks of the early composites of Nancy Burson, superimposing series of faces to make one shared face of the group, or long before her, of the Paris criminologist in the years of the Commune, Alphonse Bertillon, making portraits of criminal types by extrapolating features from all the individuals in the series.
Khan goes far beyond these precedents in finding new emotions complementary to those he finds in his 'originals': his process is interesting enough, but his results are so much more than merely the outcome of the process.