On the Nature of Things

• Photographer
  Christoph Franke, Germany
• Studio
  Christoph Franke
• Website
  https://christoph-franke-art.com/

Trees take center stage in my life. I feel a deep reverence for their unique nature as I
create my images. For me, trees represent the connection between energy (air, light) and
the material world (soil, earth).
Each time I am working on the tree crowns, I spend about 20 minutes taking numerous single
frames to be assembled later. Through this intimate “face-to-face” with the tree, I want
to capture the primordial energy of this ancient living being for my photograph. At the
same time, I pay great attention to every detail, which further enhances the encounter.
I opted to position the treetops upside down in the final work – just as they are
projected onto our retina initially. Reversed in that way, the images remind me of roots,
medicinal illustrations of a human lung, a family tree or a symbolic “tree of life”, as
they appear in ancient traditional weavings.
My next work focusses on tree trunks. With the same technique, I´m scanning the trunks and
then rotate them about 90 degrees. The trunks are then assembled and form one single image.
The goal of my series On The Nature Of Things is a visualisation of the ancient alchemical
concept “Above is one with below, inside is one with outside, spirit is one with body”
which also means:
All things are connected.

• Biography
  I am inspired by the idea that photographs create associations in the brain not merely based on optical information but rather that – similar to water – they store and release energy. I am particularly interested in the principle of polarity. Opposites make the reality as we know it. It is with the help of the basic fondamentals above and below, light and shadow or yin and yang that we are able to perceive the material world. I feel that photography is an excellent medium to shine a light on these concepts. I would like to invite to a new experience of what we usually take for granted.
• Awards
  1. place: (2015) London, winner of the public vote, 125LIVE supported by Olympus (2017) London,Fixfoto Awards, winner expert jury, cat. Harmony Bronze: (2018) Tokyo International Foto Awards Honorable Mention: (2018) Los Angeles, International Photography Awards (2015) Moscow International Foto Awards (2015) Los Angeles, International Photography Awards (2015) London International Creative Competition (2015) Paris PX3, Prix De La Photographie