Invitation to the Viewer: A Short Guide to the catalogue of Renewable images

Approach the images not as final statements, but as prompts for discovery. Allow their opacity—those areas of ambiguity or partial concealment—to spur new questions and possibilities. When an artwork or image is presented not merely as an isolated exhibit—like in a museum or gallery—but as part of a larger collection, it begins to resonate with meanings beyond its initial context or intention. In this broader framework, every piece can speak to, redefine, or expand upon the others. As viewers, we are called to engage with the image as one element within an expansive archive—here, Alter Library—where each new association, echo, or contrast creates unexpected pathways of interpretation.

This invitation is an appeal to an active gaze, one that recognizes the image as one among many and dares to look beyond the visible surfaces. Are we seeing mere ruins, discarded materials, or layers of soil, or is there much more woven into these shapes and textures? By bearing in mind that we are looking at part of a broader body of work, we challenge the boundaries of what we deem “visible.” In linking distinct pieces from the collection, our gaze can unearth deeper layers—traces of histories, stories yet to be told, or meanings that extend far beyond the frame of a single photograph or artwork.

Above all, remember that opacity implies there is never a perfect one-to-one correspondence between what an image aims to communicate and the forms by which it is expressed. There is always something impenetrable and resistant, a quality intrinsic to the matter itself. Recognizing this inherent resistance urges us to look more carefully, question more deeply, and accept that the “truth” of an image is never fully transparent.