Picture Book - Thersia Enzensberger

Picturebook brings together twenty-four images from recent global media culture, interpreted by Theresia Enzensberger. These are images that made headlines, circulated across the world, and in some cases even replaced the headlines themselves. In concise and reflective texts, Enzensberger examines how contemporary images shape public perception and collective memory, placing them within a broader art-historical context.

Among the images she analyzes are the container ship Ever Given lodged in the Suez Canal, the widely circulated photograph of Vladimir Putin seated at an absurdly long table, and the viral AI-generated image of Pope Francis wearing a white down jacket. By tracing visual traditions and iconographic references, Enzensberger reveals how images function within the history of representation and how they gain meaning in the accelerated circulation of contemporary media.

In a time shaped by deepfakes, manipulated photographs, and viral imagery, Bilderbuch encourages readers to slow down and look closely. Interpretation, the book suggests, is not secondary to current affairs but central to how they unfold and are understood.

The texts are based on the column “Iconoclash,” originally published in Monopol Magazine between 2018 and 2021.