Der Tiefenglanz II (Buddha)

Der Tiefenglanz II (Buddha)

Described as a tourist of photography, Gavin Hipkins is known for making images that record uncanny scenes from his international travels, and equally, for experimenting with the photographic medium. In his ongoing series The Sanctuary, for example, Hipkins layered his images of public parks, gardens and zoos with photograms of items like beads and necklaces.

In this way, Der Tiefenglanz extends Hipkins’ interest in subverting our expectations of what a photographic image should symbolise. Inquisitive and experimental in nature, this collaboration with contemporary jeweller Karl Fritsch is the result of a Surrealist exquisite corpse approach, where Hipkins creates gelatin silver prints from his archive of negatives and then passes them onto Fritsch to manipulate with gemstones and precious metals.

Hipkins reveals, “Initially I would send Karl prints from negatives taken of previous travels in Germany (1996), India (1997), USA (2006). These images had been unrealised but there was lots of great material there—waiting for this moment. As the collaboration progressed, I photographed with the project in mind when travelling.”

After co-exhibiting at Hamish McKay Gallery, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington in 2010, it was Hipkins who approached Fritsch about a potential collaboration. He explains, “I was interested in how Karl could embellish and intervene with the image. Something I had been exploring in my own series including The Sanctuary and Empire.”

— Sian van Dyk, 2023