PAUL PFEIFFER
HAS QUESTIONS FOR
STANLEY WOLUKAU-WANAMBWA
Free, RSVP required
HAS QUESTIONS FOR
STANLEY WOLUKAU-WANAMBWA
Free, RSVP required
Thursday,
September 11, 2025
6:30pm
Doors open
7pm
Event begins
Limited capacity
September 11, 2025
6:30pm
Doors open
7pm
Event begins
Limited capacity
In a literal sense, to capture is what photographs and films are designed to do—a camera captures something fleeting by creating a fixed image of it on film, transforming it the way a gas might turn into a solid.
The artists Paul Pfeiffer and Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa, however, don’t want images to capture as much as they want them to remain fugitive, shadow-like, free from fixity. Having recognized a kinship in their aesthetic and political sensibilities, they have been in a years-long dialogue about how to animate the edges and contours of an image—the threshold that links an image to all that it doesn't contain.
The artists Paul Pfeiffer and Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa, however, don’t want images to capture as much as they want them to remain fugitive, shadow-like, free from fixity. Having recognized a kinship in their aesthetic and political sensibilities, they have been in a years-long dialogue about how to animate the edges and contours of an image—the threshold that links an image to all that it doesn't contain.
As a way to keep the conversation going, Paul has prepared some questions for Stanley about his work, his writing, his recent exhibition, his new film, and his new book. They screen the film, look at some images, and have a conversation.
Scene at Eastman is the name of Stanley’s 2024-2025 exhibition at The George Eastman Museum in upstate New York and is also the title of his new film, shot inside and beyond the galleries. The photographs and sculptures in the exhibition (and, by extension, in the film) indicate, in various ways, the presence of others. Viewers to the exhibitions were alerted to the presence of cameras within the exhibition space—that to enter and look was, in turn, to be observed.
INDEX 2025 (Roma Publications, 2025) is Stanley’s new book, made up of images and words exploring the entanglements of reference, reality, description, feeling, and fact.
Scene at Eastman is the name of Stanley’s 2024-2025 exhibition at The George Eastman Museum in upstate New York and is also the title of his new film, shot inside and beyond the galleries. The photographs and sculptures in the exhibition (and, by extension, in the film) indicate, in various ways, the presence of others. Viewers to the exhibitions were alerted to the presence of cameras within the exhibition space—that to enter and look was, in turn, to be observed.
INDEX 2025 (Roma Publications, 2025) is Stanley’s new book, made up of images and words exploring the entanglements of reference, reality, description, feeling, and fact.
Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa, kempt, 2023
Paul Pfeiffer (b. 1966, Honolulu, Hawaii) is an artist living and working in New York City, who has been making work in video, photography, installation, and sculpture since the late 1990s. Known for his innovative manipulation of digital media, Pfeiffer recasts the visual language of mass media spectacle to examine how images shape our awareness of ourselves and the world. The first large-scale retrospective of Pfeiffer’s work was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2023-24) and traveled to the Guggenheim Bilbao (2024-25) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2025).
Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa (b. 1980, UK/Uganda) is an artist, writer, and editor. His recent publications include INDEX 2025 (Roma, 2025), “ECHO—LOCATION” (e-flux Journal #153), Indeterminacy: Thoughts on Time, the Image, and Race(ism), co-written with David Campany (MACK, 2022); Dark Mirrors (MACK, 2021); and the photographic monograph Hiding in Plain Sight, co-authored with Ben Alper (Harun Farocki Institute, 2020). His solo exhibition, Scene at Eastman (George Eastman Museum, 2024-5) closed in Spring 2025, and is the subject of an eponymous short film (directed by Adam Golfer).
Due to the age and character of the building, the space is not optimized for ADA accessibility and is located up a single flight of 20 stairs with handrails. If you have questions about access, please contact us in advance of the event, and we will make every effort to accommodate you.
