Wolfgang Tillmans’ Freedom From the Known (2006) is a rare Xerox print whose softly abstract, elongated form emerges from a rich black field, highlighting the tactile grain and mechanical nuance inherent to photocopy-based imagery. The abstract artwork reflects Tillmans’ long-standing engagement with photocopying, a process that shaped his earliest exhibitions in the late 1980s and became foundational to his exploration of image materiality and reproduction.

By embracing the photocopier as both tool and subject, Wolfgang Tillmans challenges traditional photographic norms and foregrounds the physicality and democratic reproducibility of images. This signed limited edition print resonates with the broader arc of his oeuvre, where photocopying remains a critical method for questioning truth, circulation, and the objecthood of the photographic image.