The conceptually driven works of German photographer Thomas Ruff (1958) mark a shift between analog and digital photography. Despite their representational nature, his photographs are investigations into this medium, its structure, use, the multiplicity of genres, and shifting meaning. Interested in systems of visualization, such as the internet and the post-digital era, many of the artist's series make use of pre-existing and appropriated images, questioning the subject of originality and authenticity.

- h.e.k. 01
, 2000 is part of the - l.m.v.d.r
series dedicated to the pivotal figure of modernist architecture, Mies Van der Rohe (1886-1969). Started as a commission connected to the renovation of Haus Lange and Haus Esters in Krefeld, Germany, the series is tied firmly to the artist's practice. Ruff's famous Houses series made between 1987 and 1991, representing through German architecture thirty years of Western Germany's ideology and economy. While in the early Houses series, Ruff digitally removes details obstructing depicted architecture, the - l.m.v.d.r
series fuses traditional photography elements with image manipulation. Perception and method for Ruff is his key concern. By maneuvering camera angles and manipulating focus and color, Ruff heightens the authenticity of these already heavily documented monuments, discovering new ways how to capture them. Moreover, keeping in line with the architect's philosophy, Ruff emphasizes Van der Rohe's keen sense of line and space. Revealing how he sought to blur the boundaries between inside and outside by using new materials such as glass in place of opaque walls, Ruff mirrors the architecture's ambivalence towards traditional spatial relations.