Gold Embossings. Since 1999
The gold embossings are a technique I developed.
Initially, large copies of newspaper photos were placed on gold-plated softwood surfaces. Over time, only photographs taken by me were used.
The black dots and areas of the template are traced onto the gold surfaces with pencil pressure; the pencil slightly dents the gold surface, and in this depression, after removing the template, the reflected light is refracted.
The resulting optical illusions are visible from a specific angle to the light; they change appearance with the position of the viewer. When the light strikes the surface in such a way that it shines, the gold opens a deep space, the images seem to emit active light, and the motif shines in full clarity.
The process of creating these embossings is extremely meticulous and time-consuming - up to 2 months for a single work.
"You must view these works in such a way that the gold gleams. The gold can appear either matte or shiny. When the gold gleams, it is not simply a color but expands into a space, a space of light, one could say, and it stands—hence the reference to transcendence—for an origin of things and for a future of things, thus for a space that is different from the physically perceivable one in which we exist. In this sense, gold is always something connected with the sacred. The gold, of course, in these works also relates to the sacred and the spiritual. The world of images that surrounds, envelops, and permeates us is drawn into this realm of gold, gaining a truly unique and profound character."
– Father Gustav Schörghofer SJ
