The Victoria and Albert Museum in London
2017
May 6–May 28
Thomas Ruff was nominated for the seventh Prix Pictet for his ma.r.s. series of photographs.
The series is based on satellite images of the surface of Mars taken by the high-resolution camera aboard the NASA spacecraft Mars Renaissance Orbiter. Ruff's photographs transform the originals into visual statements that are at once documentary and fictional. As the artist explains in his statement, some of the works have been rendered as 3D images, adding an element of the absurd where deep textures on the surface of another planet become visible through cheap 3D glasses.
The Prix Pictet is the world’s leading prize for photography and sustainability, awarded to a body of work that is both artistically outstanding and presents a compelling narrative related to the annual theme. Nominated for this year’s theme of "Space," the ma.r.s. works were shown in an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in May 2017.
Read more: Ruff in conversation with Artforum about the ma.r.s. series