Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Harald Krejci, Marijana Schneider

Begründung der Jury

★★★
Austria /// Österreich
★★★

Between Light and Wall by Sophie Thun is conceived less as a catalogue than as a spatial proposition in book form. Presenting new works and documenting the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, the publication foregrounds design as its central experience.
At first touch, the object surprises: a remarkably slim spine contrasts with the weight of a matte-black portfolio whose fore edge appears twice as thick. Once opened, the structure reveals itself – inside are two separate books. What seems to be the front cover becomes the back cover of the other volume, mirrored across the spread. Fully unfolded, the publication expands to a width of 80 cm, transforming into a panoramic image field. Silver printing on the black inner flaps – contents on the left, image credits on the right – introduces precise typographic accents.

The principle of doubling continues within. Each volume is divided into three blocks of gradually increasing width, allowing further layers of pages to remain partially visible. As the reader unfolds the book step by step, the format grows, and new visual constellations emerge. Images can be combined across both sides, generating a seemingly endless series of collages from photographs and installation views.

Here, page-turning becomes a choreographed movement through space. Image sequencing is integral to the design process: every shift alters the relationships between images. Between Light and Wall understands the book as an expandable, reflective object – one that does not merely present the work but performs it.