Thomas Ruff's Flieger (from Tableaux Chinois) (2021/2022) is part of his Tableaux Chinois series, in which the artist reprocesses images taken from La Chine, a Chinese Communist Party propaganda magazine circulated in Europe during the Cold War. By digitally enlarging and restructuring offset-printed photographs, Ruff exposes the underlying halftone dots and pixel grids, turning scenes of parachuting figures into fragmented, unstable images.

The motif of descent and controlled flight subtly echoes themes of ideological control, surveillance, and the choreography of power embedded in propaganda imagery. Within Ruff's oeuvre, this fine art print extends his critical investigation of how images are produced, circulated, and instrumentalized, positioning contemporary photography as a site where political persuasion and visual technology intersect.

Published in 2021/2022 in a limited edition of 50 plus 5 artist's proofs, Flieger (from Tableaux Chinois) is hand-signed and numbered by the artist. Measuring 48.3 × 32.9 cm, this digital pigment print is accompanied by an artist's book, standing as a significant example of Ruff's ongoing engagement with appropriated imagery and the politics of representation.