Hans Gremmen & Jaap Scheeren

Fake Flowers in Full Colour

The project

Fake Flowers in Full Colour is an experiment carried out by Hans Gremmen and photographer Jaap Scheeren to separate the four printing colours in a three-dimensional way. For their experiment, they bought five identical bouquets of artificial flowers. They painted four bouquets in one of the four printing colours and used one bouquet for reference. A photo was taken of each bouquet, which was used to compose the full-colour reproduction. This does not just seem to be a time-consuming method, that is exactly what it is. The ultimate aim of the experiment was to discover the essence of the reproduction of colour photography.

Committee

With the nomination of Fake Flowers in Full Colour, the jury appreciates the perseverance of the makers rather than the ultimate result. Graphic designer Hans Gremmen and photographer Jaap Scheeren have spent a lot of time separating the four printing colours in a three-dimensional way. The colour separations have then been used to create a full-colour image. The book reveals whether they have reached their goal: to achieve the essence of photography.

— Gremmen and Scheeren make us think about what is authentic or original in photography.

Want to stay informed? Sign up for our newsletter