When Michael Biedowicz bade farewell to DIE ZEIT in 2020, photographer Michael Wesely set out in search of a suitable gift for the man who, for 23 years, had immersed himself in all sorts of issues surrounding images, photographs and how best to communicate them. What came to mind were ideas about DIE ZEIT and time itself. Wesely, whose artistic technique of choice is long exposure, took portrait photographs ? each with an exposure time of five minutes ? of individuals at DIE ZEIT who had been particularly important to Biedowicz. In turn, those individuals were asked to pose a question to Biedowicz, whose response was recorded in images with various lengths of exposure. The portraits and Biedowicz's answers provide a unique insight into a life lived for and with photography. Text in English and German. Michael Wesely, born 1963, lives and works in Berlin. For three decades Michael Wesely has been photographing with unusually long exposure times. Photographs exposed over hours, weeks, and years transform his photographs into archives. This provocative approach contrasts with the stubbornness in photography to ensure control over people and settings through strict direction. Wesely creates images that simultaneously crystallise and self-destruct in the process of creation. The photographic results, through their fragmentary nature, invite one to think 'visually archaeologically' into these archive-like slices of contemporary life. His works are exhibited worldwide and are represented in important collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Instituto Moreira Salles in Sao Paulo, the Lenbachhaus Munich and the Kunstmuseum Bonn. SELLING POINTS: . A special farewell in photographs to Michael Biedowicz, picture editor of ZEITmagazin . With photographs by Michael Wesely, known for his conceptual work with exposure time 63 colour illustrations
