Maximilian Prufer's (*1986 in Weilheim Obb) works of art are not only highly aesthetic objects, but also real images of a conceptual exploration of the world. He employs a printing process he developed himself, which he calls Naturantypie, which not only allows him to depict the beating wings of butterflies, moths, or wasps, but also the paths of ants or snail tracks. Prufer's investigations and the visual worlds he creates, however, are never solely limited to recording the natural, uncontrolled patterns of insect movements. He often guides their way, using traces of scent, bait, and barriers-for instance, as an intruder into ant territory or with the help of light sources that attract moths-making it possible to discern the principle of emergence as a factor in making pictures: previously unseen visual worlds provide entirely new approaches to thought.
