Danny Matthys

1974

Photography, 6 x ( 51.5 x 41.7 cm ).
Materials: ink, paper

Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. S0386).

Terras dates from the period when Matthys was experimenting with photography, polaroid and video. A central concern was his quest for the possibilities and limitations of perception. He takes stock of physical space, studies and systematises it. Terras consists of a series of black-and-white photographs in a white frame. They were taken by Matthys himself and are presented as a horizontal sequence, inviting a reading from left to right, like a text. Each of the photographs shows a small table an four chairs. It appears to be the same image every time, but always with a minimal change of position. When we look more carefully the degree of decay in the chairs reveals that all these ensembles are different. Also the little hedge in the background and the reflections in the water are different on each photograph. By comparing the photographs and viewing the series as one unified image the differences and similarities are foregrounded. The organisation of the images as a series teases out new relations. Each image is read in relation to a whole. The overall context yields more meaning than the sum of the information given separately in each image. From a strictly formal point of view Terras shows a dynamic rhythm, a geometrical play of horizontals, verticals and diagonals, a staccato of chairs, tables, hedges. A movement in still photographic imaging.