In expériences lumineuses, Ruff approaches the photographic image from a scientific perspective, endeavoring to devise a method of picturing pure light. To create these works, Ruff turned to a simple physics experiment that helps visualize the electromagnetic spectrum. In his studio, he placed a number of glass objects – such as lenses, mirrors, and prisms – on top of a whiteboard and passed through them multiple beams of light. After photographing the reflections and refractions that resulted from these arrangements, Ruff then digitally inverted the images so that the play of light would appear as dynamically intersecting lines or stripes in the composition. Printed on velvety matte surfaces, these works on canvas appear almost as painterly abstractions, though they are actually photographs documenting scientific phenomena, engaging with the earliest critiques of the medium that decried photography as a lesser art form than painting.
