https://artmusexpress.com/the-artistic-odyssey-of-gerhard-petzl-a-journey-from-3d-to-2d/
One of Petzl’s projects is his series of “Shadow Sculptures,” which challenges the traditional notion of sculpture and its relationship with space. In this collection, Petzl assembles a potpourri of his original hand-carved sculptures, removes the sculptures digitally, and manually colors the empty space that remains. The photographs, some of which were taken as early as 2002, possess a grainy quality that adds a soft touch of life to the compositions. The artist poses a thought-provoking question: Were the sculptures merely a means to create shadows for the drawing-like images that emerge? Is the absence of three-dimensional space, and the presence of layers akin to a collage, a superior solution to the sculptures themselves?