Pear, Passion Fruit and Lychee Possibly 2000 - 2001

Wolfgang Tillmans made this photographic still life, Pear, Passion Fruit and Lychee, with what looks like an ordinary camera and natural light. But it's the kind of ordinary that feels completely special, almost a little bit psychedelic. The fleshy textures and colours jump out, don't they? The slick skin of the lychee, the pearlescent inside of the passionfruit, all caught with such casual intensity. Tillmans isn't hiding anything, he's showing you the real, raw stuff, the slightly-too-ripe, almost-decaying bits that other photographers might airbrush away. Notice the deep purple of the passion fruit skin, it looks like velvet! Then you see the bright, almost aggressive red inside, dotted with seeds. It’s like looking into the heart of something alive, something almost too vibrant to handle. That's what Tillmans does, he grabs the everyday and makes you see it like it's the first time. Think of Jan Groover's kitchen sink photos, and you get the idea. It's all about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, and not being afraid to let things get a little messy.