Paper is an everyday material, almost taken for granted – and at the same time one of the oldest carriers of our memories, thoughts and stories. In Papyrus, Jessica Backhaus makes this very material the starting point for a photographic body of work that is as reduced as it is sensual. Following Cut Outs (2021) and Plein Soleil (2024), the new book completes her trilogy on abstraction – and marks her tenth publication with Kehrer Verlag.
At a time when images increasingly exist on screens and paper is slowly disappearing from our everyday lives, Jessica Backhaus turns her attention to its immediate qualities: surface, colour, fragility, light and shadow. Using the simplest of means, she creates compositions whose very reduction gives them a remarkable presence.
The title Papyrus draws a beautiful line between past and present. In antiquity, this fragile material was entrusted with thoughts, poetry and knowledge. Backhaus translates this idea into her own contemporary visual language: colour becomes vocabulary, paper becomes a stage, and natural sunlight a creative collaborator.
“For this series, I worked with different coloured papers and natural sunlight as the main elements. These materials are humble, fleeting and direct,” Jessica says of her process. She understands colour as a form of writing – a way of marking space, time and emotion without the need for a literal narrative.
And this is precisely where the particular quality of Papyrus lies. Backhaus’ abstraction does not move away from reality; rather, it sharpens our perception of things we might otherwise overlook. A line, the edge of a sheet of paper, the meeting of two colours or a shadow is enough to create a mood. The images prescribe very little – and in doing so leave plenty of room for personal perception and association.
As a book, the series gains another dimension. Paper is reproduced on paper, photography encounters materiality – and, fittingly, the printed book becomes the ideal place for a body of work devoted to the sensual qualities of the analogue.
The fact that Papyrus is already Jessica Backhaus’ tenth publication with Kehrer Verlag also speaks of an exceptionally enduring collaboration between photographer and publisher. Across many years and different phases of her work, the books have accompanied the evolution of her photographic practice – with Papyrus now providing a beautifully consistent and poetic conclusion to this latest trilogy.
Jessica Backhaus lives and works in Berlin and is one of the internationally established voices in contemporary German photography. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in numerous public and private collections.
Jessica Backhaus – Papyrus / Exhibitions 2026–27
An exhibition at Leica Galerie Frankfurt opens in October 2026 and runs through February 2027. At Paris Photo, Robert Morat Galerie will present works by Jessica Backhaus from 11–15 November 2026, followed by Art Week Luxembourg with Galerie Anja Knoess from 19–22 November. In January 2027, Backhaus will be represented by Robert Morat Galerie at House of Galleries in Frankfurt, followed by a solo show at Robert Morat Galerie in Berlin in spring 2027.
