LARS EIDINGER´S NEW PHOTOBOOK

»Das Schicksal des Menschen ist der Mensch.«— Bertolt Brecht

Following the great success of Autistic Disco, O Mensch is the second photo book by the internationally renowned actor and photographer Lars Eidinger.

The book combines photographs taken with a cell phone and a single-lens reflex camera over the last three years with some much older shots taken between 2006 and 2023. Only on the surface do Eidinger's pictures resemble harmless snapshots.

In a society of singularities and vanishing boundaries between human and machine, the absurd reality of everyday life seems to be a colossal photomontage. Probably from the perspective of an actor who knows that the mutual existence of good and evil is at the core of every true and touching character, Lars Eidinger creates images that focus on human ambiguity.

The Berlin-based Japanese poet Yoko Tawada has written haikus to accompany individual works. This adds a poetic level to the scope for interpretation.

O Mensch is a high-quality, clothbound volume of 240 pages. The haikus are illustrated in German and English.

Events with Lars Eidinger

Lars Eidinger is one of Germany’s most distinguished actors, acclaimed for his performances as a longtime ensemble member of Berlin’s Schaubühne, as well as for his cryptic yet gently sensitive portrayals in film. You will have the opportunity to have your personal copy of O Mensch signed at numerous events over the next few weeks.

Art Cologne Talks: Images as means of self-exploration

Lars Eidinger in conversation with Elke Buhr (Monopol) followed by a book signing

Friday, November 17, 2023
5–6 p.m.
Art Cologne
Hall 11.1. | Booth D011

ALBA Gallery

Lars Eidinger reads the haikus by Yoko Tawada and shows the accompanying pictures.
Followed by a book signing.

Friday, Dezember 1, 2023
7 p.m.
Alba Gallery
Schleifmühlgasse
31040 Wien

Bücherbogen Berlin

Book Launch and Signing

Saturday, Dezember 9, 2023
6 p.m.
Bücherbogen am Savignyplatz
Stadtbahnbogen 593
10623 Berlin

Schaubühne Berlin

Lars Eidinger reads the haikus by Yoko Tawada and shows the accompanying pictures and talks to Susanne Gaensheimer about his work.
Followed by a book signing.

Sunday, December 10, 2023
6 p.m.
Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz
Kurfürstendamm 153
10709 Berlin

Exhibitions

Lars Eidinger. O Mensch
Kunstsammlung NRW
Düsseldorf
August 31, 2024 – January 26, 2025

Illusion
Hamburger Kunsthalle
December 6, 2024 – April 6, 2025

Edition Hatje Cantz

The color green appears again and again in Lars Eidinger's photographs, be it in his paradoxical depictions of nature or in the technical version of the "green screen", which is used on set during filming to later incorporate visual effects and backgrounds in post-production.

The set photography that Eidinger has selected for our Edition Hatje Cantz also shows a complex system of green surfaces, alluding to the illusion machine of film as well as to the painterly tradition of the monochrome.