Werner Nekes' desk surrounded by his collectionPhotography by Valerie Stahl von StrombergIn the basement of a house in Germany, lie 500 years worth of optical instruments: experimental filmmaker Werner Nekes’s sprawling collection of pre-cinematic objects. Known for films including Beuys (1981) and Johnny Flash (1986), the director came across a thaumatrope – an optical toy considered the antecedent of the cartoon – in the 70s, and from there an obsession was ignited. Author Chloe Aridjis travelle...