Willi Filz was born in 1962 in Eupen, in the
German-speaking community in Belgium. Trained in the hospitality business
sector, he travelled between Switzerland, England, Africa and America to work
in restaurants. At twenty-seven, he took a decisive turn and chose to become a
photographer: he then attended photo-design courses at the Technical College Superior
of Dortmund, Germany. Filz exhibited in galleries at the end of his studies in
1992. In 1996 he became an independent photographer and produced reports on
architecture and series of portraits for Swiss and German magazines.
In his artistic work, a witness to the way in which we spontaneously and
almost unconsciously classify each individual according to his appearance –
Filz makes an attempt to free the men and women he photographs from such
shackles. The artist makes a series of portraits of anonymous people in
different regions of the world, following a similar process: after having
chosen a place and adequate light, he approaches an unknown person whom he
wishes to photograph and, when mutual trust is established, takes a portrait in
the chosen place. It can take place in the everyday environment of the model: a
cafe, a grocery store, etc.; but most often it is a public space like the
street or a park, which Filz chooses as scenery. The photographer asks the subjects
to adopt the most natural attitude possible, not to change their appearance, to
keep the jewellery or attributes they wear, hoping to capture their most
‘authentic’ image.
This is the process that the artist used to make this series in 2001, in
Syria. In colour and printed in medium format (85 x 70 cm), the photographs
were taken from the front, sometimes full-length, sometimes half-length
portraits. These were low-angle shots, so that the subject's gaze seems to
slide naturally towards the camera and, beyond, to the viewer. The background
is vague, the figures are clear; the specificities of each individual are
highlighted. The photographic act is totally assumed: rather than a
confrontation, Filz offers an encounter with the subject.
No print is titled, just a summary indication
in brackets, such as ‘Suffi’ or ‘Young woman with blue sweater’, serves as a
purely practical reference and not as a contextual indication. If the
specificities of each one are highlighted, the systematic repetition of the same
shooting process and the absence of a personalised title unites the subjects
without distinction. The series thus seems to constitute a global picture. By
systematically accumulating the peculiarities of society, Filz succeeded in
drawing from it a relatively stable and continuous image. The sense of identity
that emerges from his work transcends political or cultural boundaries: the
impression of humanity, alone, remains, as a reflex of species.
