Something Struck Me

Sculptural light installation
Offenbach / Hafen 2, Luminale / Biennial of Light Art, 2010
Wood; acrylic tubes; reflective film; LED spotlights

To make way for a new residential area, the old harbor district of Offenbach was gradually demolished. Near the locomotive shed of the former harbor railway - still standing at the time, construction work came to a halt infront of a former oil hall. This brief construction-pause allowed a one-week intervention in the rapidly changing surroundings: the installation of the work Something Struck Me. Demolished and discarded beams, mostly gathered from the local harbor area, as well as broken and splintered wood pile up into a rough structure. Guided by light, the structure seems to collapse in a controlled manner over a length of 18 meters, until its final segments rest on the ground. Highly reflective material covers custom-cut acrylic pipes that imitate neon tubes. LED spotlights illuminate the installation.

To be struck by something resembles being touched in a flash. These micro-moments, some lasting only milliseconds, before one attempts to grasp something, compare to a sense of wonder. An overwhelming presence hits, without initially knowing what it wants, where it leads or where it comes from. That is the bloodstream of this installation.

Scetch studio / harbor area / day / night / dismantling

Metamorphosis I / Black varnish

THERE WILL BE A SHIP

Spatial installation
Hafen 2, Interim.projects #40.13, Offenbach, 2013
Wood; black synthetic resin varnish, objects, plots

CONSIDER DEPTH WHEN YOU WANT TO MOVE - these words are written in large black letters on a white wall. Lightness, flexibility, and quick understanding are meant to set us in motion. We must shed weight is recommended, throw overboard what has become too heavy to deal with. Minimalism and reduction are the slogans of our time, meant to be experienced and accomplished horizontally, on the surface.
The vertical is often considered only in terms of rising upwards. When it comes to moving forward, we are encouraged to reach higher, go faster. But what about the potential of depth? Profound decisions, weighty content, and complex interconnectedness all draw upon the vertical. Insights and discoveries are found predominantly beneath the visible. The heavy six meter long vessel appears to be at a standstill. Has it run aground? Not at all. Rather, it uses this moment of apparent stillness as an impulse, a deep breathe, in order to go under the surface, to find the right course.

Installation in the former old railway powerhouse / Preparations at the studio & powerhouse construction

vertical draw down

Spatial Installation
cab_In; Station district, Frankfurt/Main, 2014
Wood; acrylic tubes; reflective film; LED spotlights 

An abandoned stairwell leading to a former underground parking garage provided the opportunity for this vertical spatial installation. The material is set into motion in opposing directions. Tensions bend and strain the wood across two floors in specified directions. Illuminated  neon tube imitations highlight this complex relationship of forces within the vertical. 

vertical draw down was presented in collaboration with Janine Maschinsky/projektmaschinE and Jens Burgert/Bar during the week-long interim project "cab_In 2014" in Frankfurt's station district.

Accessing the Off Space / Installation of vertical draw down / Bar Pop-up / Opening & programm with various artists

Metamorphosis II / Red varnish

Spacial Installation
Blaues Haus e.V., Frankfurt/Main, 2014
Wood; red synthetic resin varnish; screws 

point of red concentrates and clusteres the repainted material at two points in space standing opposite of each other - as heavyweights. Seemingly similar, the two blocks negotiate their differences as equals on the same level. They symbolize a state of utmost concentration: the moment of gathering energy, in preparation for the approaching turbulence within a dispute. Like a deep inward breath, they are facing each other with their rough and broken texture, suggesting that the impending confrontation will not be an easy one.

Installation of point of red at the venue Blaues Haus e.V. / nightfall surrounding the venue at Niederräder Ufer in Frankfurt/Main

The City, it turned Red!

Spatial Installation
Japan Center, Frankfurt/Main, 2015
Wood; synthetic resin varnish; screws

For the installation The City, it turned Red! the material from point of Red was roughly doubled. That new volume allowed the arrangement of a fictional metropolis. In a model-like character, we witness a sort of Gotham City, that leaves little to no room for human inhabitants. It is possible, that an unknown species may be home to this urban structure. A species of a kind, that differ fundamentally from us, as they require neither air nor light. The little we know: They do not leave their vertical dwellings; flora and fauna are absent and seem to be of no value; the color red is clearly essential. Do they even live in these windowless skyscrapers or possibly only underground, with the City-structure solely imitating the former human idea of a City? Did they come here from another earth or grow amongst us?

All questions remained. The City, it turned Red! was exhibited only once, during the Night of the Museums on the 25th floor of the Japan Center in Frankfurt's banking district. It was dismantled after twelve hours. 

Partial contruction test at the studio / Installation Japan Center