Sophie Thun

First Monographs
Phileas – The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art

THE BODY AS INSTRUMENT

Sophie Thun (b. Frankfurt/Main, 1985) works with analogue photography techniques. With her works, she ties in with the tradition of self-portrayal in European art history. Weaving together references going as far back as the sixteenth century, she also addresses the precarious conditions in which aspiring young artists labor in today’s art system.
Thun spends much of her creative time in the darkroom, where she brings her body directly into contact with the light-sensitive paper. In this way, she creates shadows, imprints and traces that are fed into new images and transformed into complex arrangements in space. In the direct processing of her photographic works, painting - her original artistic medium - is always perceptible and visible.

The book is the inaugural volume in our series of First Monographs. Initiated by Phileas, the series is dedicated to first publications of rising artists who were born or live in Austria. With essays by Lucy Gallun, Catherine Wood, and Lisa Long and an interview with the artist by Charlotte Cotton.