Wolfgang Tillmans on borders, digital photography, and his Hong Kong exhibition at David Zwirner

Wolfgang Tillmans discusses his exhibition at David Zwirner Hong Kong, running from 26 March through 12 May 2018. The show includes images of Shenzhen, Macau, and Hong Kong, exploring political and geographical borders. Tillmans reflects on his late arrival to China, having only shown once before in a 2012 group exhibition at Leo Xu in Shanghai. He notes early Japanese critics accessed spiritual meanings in his work, unlike Western focus on social narratives. A 1993 Macau photograph contrasts with recent Hong Kong images, spanning 25 years between visits. The exhibition catalogue features an email exchange with printer Klaus, viewed as concrete poetry. Tillmans describes transitioning from 35mm film to high-resolution digital cameras by 2009, with works like Sections (2017) achieving shocking clarity. Large-scale prints, such as Wake (2001) shown at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, overwhelm with detail. He addresses the Neue Welt series (2009-13), emphasizing photography without possessive desire. Portraits of strangers, like Patricia (2018) in Kinshasa, Congo, require receiving rather than taking images. Tillmans connects borders to clothing as artificial layers and astronomy as exploring limits. He values photography as recording what his mind sees, not a tool for acquisition.