Lars Eidinger

The title "Present Perfect" has a double meaning: on one hand, it refers to the "completed present," culminating in a "perfect" moment; on the other hand, it alludes to the English tense that extends from the past into the present. It hints at the utopian attempt of photography to capture life, yet it can only ever hold onto a moment from the past. Eidinger's images superficially resemble seemingly harmless snapshots. In a society of singularities, the absurd reality appears like a colossal photomontage. Behind it lies a contradictory, abyssal world. Eidinger's photographs depict non-places, makeshift arrangements, and strikingly placed oddities. They confront unbearable contradictions, serving as symbolic images of an exhausted time. "Present Perfect" brings together new images taken with a smartphone alongside shots captured with a DSLR, tracing Eidinger's photographic self-explorations over the past 20 years. Lars Eidinger (*1976, Berlin) is regarded as one of Germany's most prominent actors, celebrated for his expressive performances of great performative power as a long-time ensemble member of the Berliner Schaubühne, as well as for his profound yet tenderly sensitive portrayals in film. Building on his first photo book, Eidinger increasingly gives photography space as a form of expression and a means of self-exploration.