Daguerre
“Daguerre’s dioramas transported viewers “elsewhere”. They often reproduced political events or natural disasters. The tarps photographed by Christoph Sillem in ‟Daguerre,” by contrast, cloak a present referent with its perfect copy—they serve to ensure the continuity between a decayed before and the refreshed after. In a word, they seek to erase time, manifesting an ahistorical perspective which speaks volumes on the Paris that investors and urban planners dream of today. Sillem here pays homage to Daguerre, while also revealing one significant face of contemporary Paris. With his photographs he re-instills, into an art of illusion that has been reduced to merely serving a function, a multi-valent, magical charm.“
Sonia Voss in her catalogue essay
