Carré d’Art – Musée d’art contemporain, Nîmes
2018
May 4–September 16, 2018
Wolfgang Tillmans: What Is Different? was a major survey of the artist’s practice featuring portraits and abstract photographs, works related to his ongoing Truth Study Center project (begun in 2005), and posters made in support of the anti-Brexit campaign. The exhibition related specifically to the new edition of the annual Jahresring contemporary art journal, which was guest-edited by the artist. Taking as a starting point the “backfire effect”—a phrase coined to describe how people often maintain or even strengthen their beliefs when given factual evidence against them—Tillmans interviewed scientists, politicians, journalists, and social workers in an effort to understand changes in the international political climate in recent decades, with a particular focus on right-wing populism and fake news. The artist was recently in conversation with critic and writer Sean O’Hagan at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London for the launch of the journal, which Tillmans also discusses in an article for The Guardian.
The exhibition in Nîmes followed large-scale presentations of the artist’s work at Tate Modern, London, and Fondation Beyeler, Basel, both held in 2017.