Philipp Hoelzgen

Caliber 12, 2022-2025

03 August - 15 November 2025 Kunstverein Augsburg
with Anna Witt, Philipp Hoelzgen, Eunju Hong, René Radomsky, Cana Bilir-Meier, Michael Wegerer, Sophie Thun, Jonas Höschl & Valerie Prinz,
curated by Jonas Höschl & Christian Thöner

29 May - 16 June 2025 Atelier Augarten, Vienna
An exhibition by students and graduates of the class Gabriele Rothemann
curated by Gabriele Rothemann, Andreas Duscha, Itai Magula

Subject, shot, image. The series 'Caliber 12' radically questions the photographic process. 4x5-inch sheet films were shot with a shotgun. The projectiles pierce the light-sensitive film and expose it at the moment of impact. What remains is a luminous silhouette. In this work, photography is not a representation, but the result of an action. This series examines the imaging process as something that is constructed subjectively. Photography is tied to reality by an invisible thread like no other medium. But how 'real' are these small glowing dots on the sheet film, and which of the images is the 'right' one? Fragments of time are amalgamated into a speculative moment.

Trap Load, 2022

Two Photography 100 x 100 cm

FOTOTOPOS
curated by Philipp Goldbach
2022, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien

In Trap Load, the parallels between photography and firearms are examined, with a focus on the shared processes of loading, aiming and shooting. The work presents studio photographs of a camera loaded with Caliber 12 cartridges, the size of which corresponds to traditional roll film. The arrangement is similar to that of a shooting range, with the images aligned as if prepared for a precise shot.
The work reflects the conceptual overlap between the photographic act and the operation of a weapon: both involve a magazine, a trigger, and a final result that becomes fixed in reality.