By Lisa Oppenheim
Publisher: Hatje Cantz
Publication date: January 2026
Print length: 228 pages
Language: English
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Lisa Oppenheim: Eternal Substitute presents a body of work shaped by curiosity, patience, and a deep respect for photography’s layered histories. Over the past two decades, Oppenheim has forged a practice that begins with photography but rarely ends there. Her work moves fluidly between image, object, and idea, inviting viewers to reconsider what photography has been, what it is now, and what it might yet become.
Central to Oppenheim’s approach is the act of transformation. Rather than producing images from scratch, she revisits existing photographs, archives, and technologies, subjecting them to processes of reinterpretation and material shift. Through techniques that range from historical photographic methods to textiles, film, and sculptural forms, images are altered, displaced, and renewed. These acts of reprocessing expose the fragile relationship between memory, authorship, and reproduction.
The works gathered in Eternal Substitute reflect a sustained engagement with the social and political dimensions embedded within photographic history. Oppenheim’s interest lies not only in what images depict, but in how they circulate, age, and accumulate meaning over time. By foregrounding process and materiality, she slows down the act of looking, encouraging reflection rather than consumption. The familiar becomes uncertain, and the archival takes on a contemporary urgency.
Published alongside her exhibition Monsieur Steichen at MUDAM Luxembourg, the book offers a focused survey of the artist’s work from the past twelve years. Thoughtful essays and conversations deepen the context of her practice, tracing connections between experimentation, historical research, and critical inquiry. Together, image and text form a dialogue that mirrors Oppenheim’s own method of exchange between past and present.
Eternal Substitute stands as both a catalogue and a meditation on photography’s evolving language. In an era saturated with images, Oppenheim’s work reminds us of the power of restraint, revision, and care. Her practice honors tradition while quietly pushing against its limits, offering a forward-looking vision grounded in history, material intelligence, and sustained attention.