Ruff has been an exciting figure on the international photography scene for many years, not only because he is always looking for a new point of view or a new way of seeing things, but because his conceptual base remains stable, in spite of his different use of tools. His images always press the borders of the medium.
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The retrospective is not arranged in chronological order, but follows a path of thought. Giant, high-definition portraits are placed next to pictures of constellations in the night sky and blurry internet porn images - all from well-known series by Ruff - and linked by excerpts from an interview with Ruff about the preparation of the exhibition.
Ruff's use of different imaging tools is aptly demonstrated with his series of photographs of peaceful cityscapes with a night-vision device, as well as with his pixilated images of the September 11 attacks on the United States and the war in Iraq - one can make sense of the image from afar, but they become just a geometry of colour close up.
In Ruff's work, one cannot distinguish the works he has made himself from found photos or from images from newspapers. His photographs do not show a singular view, but speak instead about the responsibility of creating an image.
