Pathologist

Abstract

Gijs Assmann's father is a retired pathologist. His study of morphological change and deviation was expressed not only in his medical career but in a lifelong fascination with Nazism, the Second World War and the Holocaust. Assmann regards his father's career as a metaphor for his modus operandi as a photographer, probing for deviations, disorders and undesirabilities. Assmann's photography aims to uncover that which we prefer to hide, including ethical and moral aberrations. In this spirit, "Pathologist" is an enigmatic and confrontational reworking of images gathered by Assmann from his father's Nazi-themed book collection. The book documents and explores both the twentieth century's 'great evil' and some of the motivations behind Assmann's contemporary works.