Success with memory
His name is typically German and, when spoken out loud, has a rhythm that is very similar to that of the artist, Caspar David Friedrich: Thomas Friedrich Schäfer. Just as German are his historically exact depictions of childhood memories from the 80s and 90s. He has captured these with a digital camera and thus transformed them into documentation of his (questionably reliable) memories. With this sometimes disturbing but always fascinating work, he won the Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2015 in the “Free Choice/Conceptual Photography” category. This interview with Thomas Friedrich Schäfer aims to get closer to the source of these memories and the effects of his success.
What encouraged you to take part in the Felix Schoeller Award 2015? What did you hope for when submitting your work in the category of “Free Choice/Conceptual Photography”?
To be quite honest, I only submitted my work just before the deadline. Right until the last moment, I wasn’t convinced that my work would “make it.” The basic idea was that I hoped to be able to show the pictures, either to the specialists jury or even in an exhibition.
After you had seen all the award winners and nominees in the exhibition at the awards ceremony, where did you rank your work in the contest?
I don’t compare my work to other people’s. It would be like comparing apples with oranges. There were lots of very conceptually and aesthetically successful works on display, and I was glad and felt honoured that my work was allowed to hang in this context.
How did you react when you found out that you were a category winner?
I cried out with joy internally; it was a “pat on the back” after good and intensive work.
Your work has gone on to win more prizes. Can you tell us which ones, when, and where?
In the following year, so after the Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2015, I managed to win three further prizes. In March 2016, the ‘Arte Laguna’ Art Prize, in the “Photographic Art” category; in April followed the ‘LaGrande Photo’ Art Prize, in the “Fine Art” category and in June 2016 I won the ‘Moscow International Photography Award,’ in the “Fine Art Professional” category.
How long did you need to complete your work?
The production time of the “Experiential Spaces” series was around two years in total – starting from conception through to actually completing the work. Each installation took me around 200-300 hours.
Which camera do you use to take your photos?
I prefer digital Medium Format and therefore use a Phase One.
Has anything changed for you since winning the Award?
This acknowledgement, and the further recognition I have received, motivated me enormously and confirmed that I should continue with my artistic creations and open new doors.
What projects are you planning for the near future? What are you working on right now?
The upcoming series with the working title of “Autofiction” should blur the boundaries between staging, fiction, and documentary, as well as autobiography in the present day. Once again, I will be using installations as part of the creative process.
Congratulations on your success, many thanks for taking the time to talk to us, and good luck with opening new doors!
Thomas Friedrich Schäfer:
Born in Mainz in 1983, and growing up in Sao Paolo, Thomas Friedrich Schäfer returned to Germany to study. After completing his bachelor’s degree at the Technische Kunsthochschule in Berlin, he took part in a variety of expeditions in 2014, with his works being displayed in Berlin and elsewhere. The Felix Schoeller Photo Award was the first major award that he won as a photographer.
The making of “Experiential Spaces” can be seen in two documentaries on Vimeo: