Exhibition Thomas Demand: Model Studies

Munich-born artist Thomas Demand faithfully recreates scenes from well-known photographs. The special thing about this is that he uses paper and cardboard as “building materials”. Before he destroys his models, he takes photographs of them. The current exhibition at the Hombroich rocket station in Neuss also features photographs by Thomas Demand. And these are also pictures of models – with the difference that they are not his own models. Instead, they are architectural models by the late architect John Lautner and the Japanese architecture firm Sanaa.

The estate of the American architect Lautner contains twelve architectural models. However, while some of his works were even used as backdrops in well-known films such as “The Big Lebowski” or the 007 classic “Diamond Fever”, these designs were never built. The large-format photographs now on display in the Siza Pavilion show sections of these examples. Predominantly made of simple brown cardboard, the models were used for internal communication. These contemporary witnesses now show signs of decay.

The Japanese architects Sanaa, winners of the Pritzker Prize in 2010, on the other hand, usually make their models from white copy paper. These white samples can be found throughout the office, reflecting their creators’ wealth of ideas. And while some disappear unfinished into the sea of models, others are subject to the further creative process and become reality.

The exhibition Thomas Demand: Model Studies runs until December 6 in the Siza Pavilion at the Raketenstation Hombroich.