Since his studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in the early 1980s, Ruff has been interested in how the technology of photography shapes the way in which images are taken and consumed. To create the works in this series, he made use of a low-light image intensifier. Starting in and around Düsseldorf, and later in other cities, he went out after dark to photograph unassuming backyards, buildings, and streets. The resulting compositions reveal their subjects in a green, blurry light that is unlike anything seen with standard cameras or the naked eye. While night vision photography emerged in the 1930s, the Gulf War of 1990–1991 introduced advanced equipment that paved the way for 24-hour warfare.
Television viewers worldwide witnessed unprecedented footage of brightly lit combat taking place in full darkness on the ground. Nächte (Nights) was directly inspired by the imagery from the Gulf War. Using a technology developed for military purposes to capture trivial, placid settings, Ruff plays with viewers’ expectations—his photographed locations appear shrouded in mystery or secrecy. Each of the works conveys the impression that something is about to happen. As with the artist’s broader oeuvre, the series questions the straightforward relationship between image and reality, while here drawing specific attention to the context in which visual information is consumed.
