Oh look, it’s fluffy!

Kamera: Nikon FE (1978) auf Kodak Ultramax 400 Film

Entstehungsjahr: 2024

Limitierte Auflage: 1/15

Light, Darkness, the Unknown, Soft Fur.

The mystery and unpredictability of metropolitan parks for children is something we adults can barely grasp anymore. 

This documentation delves into the ignorance and curiosity of children as they navigate urban spaces. In this four-part chronology, the focus lies on childlike exploration. 

For this reason, this series shows the viewer as little as possible until, in the end, they are led to a fundamental, childlike realization. The interplay of light and shadow represents the limited yet highly sensitive perception of children. Darkness clears at the conclusion, and the child takes another of many steps toward understanding the world. Thus, light and shadow take on multiple meanings here: they symbolize the unknown and realization, while also pointing to emotions like confusion, overwhelm, or relief. 

Materiality plays a decisive role at the beginning and end of the series. Initially, it hints at the jungle children perceive in every small bush. Everything feels foreign, exciting, distant, and threatening. By the end of the series, however, materiality represents the children’s "aha" moment. What previously seemed so distant and mystical becomes something approachable and fluffy. Thus, it provides a narrative framework for the development addressed in the series. 

04_Oh look, it’s fluffy!

The series concludes with the children’s realization. They’ve learned that this once-strange creature belongs to their world and can even be petted. It suddenly becomes approachable. The darkness that dominated the previous images gives way to a light-filled scene. 

The smooth and shadowy textures of the jungle give way to the fluffy and soft fur of an accessible animal. The "aha" moment has arrived.