Untitled (Death Mask) 1978

Arnulf Rainer made this ‘Untitled (Death Mask)’ using, I guess, traditional darkroom techniques with a painterly approach. Look at the raw, almost violent application of ink or paint, a kind of overpainting blurring the boundary between photography and expressive mark-making. The material presence is intense; you can almost feel the gritty texture and the urgency of the gesture. See how the face seems to emerge from a tangled web of lines, a flurry of dark strokes that both reveal and conceal? It's like a struggle, a battle to capture something elusive. I think the way Rainer uses the black and white – the stark contrast – it’s unsettling, but also kinda beautiful. It reminds me a bit of some of the early Abstract Expressionists, like de Kooning, in its raw, emotional intensity. But Rainer takes it to another level. He’s not just exploring form; he’s grappling with the big stuff – life, death, and the messy, uncomfortable spaces in between.