Max Mäder (2025)

DUMMIES READING DUMMIES explores the act of reading through stock images, revealing the generic aesthetics of these staged scenes. It invites reflection on our own reading habits by depicting people looking into blank, white books. The design follows a deliberately standardized approach. The book format aligns with DIN A4 to emphasize uniformity. Images are arranged so that the book’s central fold matches the physical spine, while the depicted hands mirror the position of actual hands holding the book. By extending the images to the edges of the pages, distractions from white borders are eliminated. The choice of black-and-white ensures a consistent visual language, avoiding variations in color.

UNCRUMPLED CRUMPLED This poster series 1–4 explores the visual language of digital mock-ups by transforming them into physical objects. The posters depict crumpled paper textures commonly used in online templates to simulate a worn, analog aesthetic. Printed in DIN A1 format, they create the illusion of real, pasted posters. By shifting a purely digital effect into the physical world, the work questions the perception of materiality and the boundaries between simulation and reality.

SHARED POSTCARDS This postcard series consists of four motifs depicting different hand positions while passing a postcard. As in ‘Dummies Reading Dummies’ (will be featured later), the hands are shown in their real size, and the entire series is presented in black and white. The empty postcard within the printed postcard corresponds to the standard DIN A6 format, which is commonly used for postcards of this type. The aim of this work is to challenge perception and consciously reframe the viewer’s perspective. I deliberately chose not to include additional motifs—partly for economic reasons and partly as a reference to Peter Röhr who used grid structures and motif repetition to highlight the uniformity of media images. By displaying the Shared Postcards in a postcard stand with four sides, each containing ten postcard slots, the serial character of the work is further emphasized.

HOLDING THE UNHOLDING is a projection of people holding the sunset in their hands. Like the other works, it deals with the uniformity of images. This is made visible through the central placement of the sun in the middle of each image, as well as through the surrounding people. The repeated structure and formal design highlight the similarity of the motifs and raise questions.