Katrin Korfmann, Jens Pfeifer Back Stages

Back Stages, a photographic series created by fine art photographer Katrin Korfmann and sculptor Jens Pfeifer, documents the under-appreciated world of manufacturing that is nonetheless essential to making artworks and culturally important objects.

Travelling the world over a period of three years, the artists captured scenes such as a bronze foundry in the Netherlands, a stainless-steel workshop in China, an archeological excavation site in Turkey, and a functioning 11th-century tannery in Morocco. By foregrounding these facilities, Korfmann and Pfeifer draw attention away from the romantic notion of a solitary artist in their studio and shift it to a broader network of labour. Every step of the artistic process, from planning to execution, is wrought with artistic meaning and is integral to the final piece of art. Back Stages emphasizes the significance of manufacturing and materials in the world of art and culture.