With his monumental work “Big Bang”, photo artist Chris Tille (50) from Tegernsee is currently competing with 19 other emerging and established artists from all over the world for the BBA Artist Prize.
Berlin / Tegernsee
- The competition exhibition has been running in Berlin's Kühlhaus, a hip event and exhibition location over seven floors in a historic industrial design, since Wednesday evening.
More than 1000 artists from ten nations applied for the award, Chris Tille made it from the longlist to the shortlist of the sixth art competition organized by the well-known artist-run BBA Gallery from Berlin-Mitte.
A solo exhibition awaits the winner there.
Chris Tille reports directly from the cold store in the telephone interview.
Mr. Tille, how are things going in Berlin? Have you managed to get hold of a suitable wall and good space for your almost nine-meter-long “Big Bang”?
Yes I have.
A total of around 600 square meters are available here in the Berlin cold store on the fourth floor.
A white plasterboard was specially put in for my “Big Bang” so that it comes into its own here.
It has a total length of 8.70 meters.
Since it is transported disassembled into five parts, it was no art to get it to Berlin.
Only the assembly is tricky.
But the size is the reason why I cannot show my key work in Tegernsee in my own, very small gallery.
"Big Bang" was the work with which you show the birth moment of the universe after two years of experimentation, right?
Exactly.
“Big Bang” comprises an edition of six pictures, five of which are now in well-known collections.
This one here in Berlin is the last picture that I actually didn't want to sell.
That's why I set the horrific price of one million euros for it as protection money, so to speak.
And what can I say: since yesterday there have actually been two interested parties - a collector and an auctioneer ...
Holy cow! That's amazing...
That's how I see it and admit: I'm very excited. Just for fun, the auctioneer said that the price wasn't all that high - just a little over one euro per year. “Big Bang” shows the 760,000 year long moment of birth of our universe. I haven't just photographed traditionally for a long time now, but rather make data and signals visible in complex processes. In cooperation with the Max Planck Institute, which provided me with measurement data and at times even one of their supercomputers, a visualization of the cosmic microwave background radiation was created. I use a sound translation of the radiation so that the frequency, volume and time axis of the sound define the brightness and position of the image pixels.The work is intended to take the viewer on a visual journey through space and time, back to the Big Bang and the beginning of the universe.
How do you calculate your chances of winning the competition with “Big Bang”?
No idea.
The BBA gallery owners have described “Big Bang” as the most eye-catching work of art at this year's exhibition.
But that doesn't have to mean anything.
Because there is pretty strong competition here.
Five artists in particular are very popular to make the race.
Are you one of them?
I hope so.
The jury consists of ten international gallery owners, curators and art critics, and they decide in a long process who will ultimately receive the award.
Also read: The photographer Chris Tille is fascinated by the Tegernsee.
