Come see the work above, titled ’Stola’, and the rest of Lisa Oppenheim’s solo exhibition, ‘Spolia’, on view now in NY! ’Stola’ is based on an object in Oppenheim’s personal collection, an antique lace scarf with geometric patterns in beaded silver that she bought in a flea market in Paris. While researching the ERR Project (named after The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, a “special task force” charged with seizing valuable Jewish and other cultural properties in occupied countries), Oppenheim came across a description of such a scarf, also originating in Paris. It was repatriated to France after the war but never restituted. Could this be the same object? Probably not, but it points to the question of the provenance of any historical object purchased in any flea market or on ebay or etsy. Where did that vintage armoire once reside? That lace tablecloth? What are the histories of the objects around us and what can they tell us? Oppenheim used the scarf itself as a photographic negative, producing an index of the object so its form is rendered in light. In the developing process, she replaced the silver gelatin in the photographic emulsion with metallic silver, conjuring the scarf’s beads out of the paper itself. Image: ’Stola’, Lisa Oppenheim, 2022, Set of 3 silver toned silver gelatin photograms @furryteacup #LisaOppenheim #TanyaBonakdarGallery #TanyaBonakdar