OPEN HOUSE, 2017
basis e.V, 60329 Frankfurt/Main

Mantra I, 3 x 2x1m / Audioloop 140 Min.

Repetitive recitation breaks down the statement IT WILL - BE GOOD - SOME DAY into three separate parts. Each canvas consists of approximately 4,500 repetitions of the respective word pair, made from narrow, hand-embossed strips of paper. Woven into the three-part mantra, a reversal adds an element of doubt to the assertion or wish - that one day everything will be good, by shyly and almost not noticeable asking: WILL IT - BE GOOD - SOME DAY? All three canvases are recorded as a sound source, recited in a whisper, and played back in a loop of overlapping tracks. Building on the natural textual structure of the individual words and letters - each spaced at varying distances from one another - the sound design of the audiovisual installation Mantra I explores the rhythm of the work. Sometimes the word sequences collapse into one another, yielding new combinations, and in the spoken version, forming a kind of primal sound that is partly clear and partly incomprehensible. The voice follows the relief lettering, the deliberate interruptions, and creates a rhythmic pattern of sound, a musical score. Beneath the surface of Mantra I an earlier work circles as a subtext. It leaves ghostly traces on the surface, as if bearing witness to a former presence. The mantra IT WILL - BE GOOD - SOME DAY opens its protective shield, but at the same time points to its new form, in which doubt and question are welcomed.

OPEN HOUSE

Dimensions variable; parabolic grid; colored foil; varnish

A total of 6,707 custom-cut and folded strips of colored foil cover ten parabolic grid segments. Immediately after being folded, each individual strip expands to claim its own space within the respective defined parabolic grid square, defining its own field. OPEN HOUSE is installed in the open space, which allows visitors to move through the work, offering closeups and wide angles depending on the perspective. In full contact with the individual segment, the interplay of light shifts between states of intense density and near-total transparency. OPEN HOUSE is expandable. Its current state is fragmented and features segments such as SOUTH WALL I or GABLE ROOF I & II. Possible future developments include additions, expansions, and a progression toward the more complex structures of an OPEN CITY.

Exhibition view, basis e.V. 

Studio view / Making of 

BALKEN (BEAMS)
2017
Dimensions variable

The work consists of various beams and pieces of wood that bear traces of their history. A silvery-colored parasite takes hold in the cracks and wounds - and settles in. Adapting to the specific structure of each mark, the thin shiny strips flow like a stream, creating their own habitat and texture. Drawing from observations of crystalline structures that glow from within, the work BEAMS (BALKEN) sends shimmering reflections of light into its surroundings. Within the OPEN HOUSE exhibition, BALKEN was installed as a hanging piece. A collection of used ropes support its weight, holding it at one end in room height, while the other remains hovering or resting on the ground.

Studio view / Making of

Black-Series I / Any Fear
2017
Colored foil strips, hand-stamped; MDF block; 30 x 40 cm
Mediator/bridge between the works Mantra I (hand-stamped paper strips) and OPEN HOUSE (colored foil strips)

The text-based work Any Fear explores the complex concept of fear. Word combinations try to capture various facets of this specific state of mind.

FIRE FEAR * BORROWED FEAR * TIGER FEAR * SUBURBIAN FEAR * BEAT FEAR * FOUND FEAR * HORRIFYING FEAR * DREAMED FEAR * CRASH FEAR * POWER FEAR * ACCIDENT FEAR * ACCIDENTAL FEAR * TRUST FEAR * FUN FEAR * CHOSEN FEAR * GUN FEAR * DOUBLED FEAR * WASTED FEAR * NEGLECTED FEAR * FEARED FEAR * METROPOLITAN FEAR * HEAT FEAR * CROSS FEAR * STUPID FEAR * VIRAL FEAR * FOREST FEAR * PRECIOUS FEAR * MIRRORED FEAR * FACED FEAR * SILENT FEAR * GENE FEAR * MENTAL FEAR * BOMB FEAR * ICE FEAR * BEE FEAR * FOREIGN FEAR * CANCER FEAR * SPIDER FEAR * TRACED FEAR * SHAPED FEAR * LIMITED FEAR * MONKEY FEAR * PRINTED FEAR * UNCERTAIN FEAR * ELEVATOR FEAR * ELEVATING FEAR * FIGHT FEAR * CASUAL FEAR * CROWD FEAR * MENTAL FEAR * EVERY FEAR * ANY FEAR

White-Series I / ed. ion
2017
Colored foil strips, hand-stamped; MDF block; 30 x 40 cm

The text-based work White-Series I / ed. ion deals with states of manifested conditions. By positioning the words in direct proximity to one another, the word pairs form constructions that instantly become charged, releasing tensions when coming into contact.

SILENCED NOTION * CONFIRMED SPECULATION * MANIFESTED SEPARATION * BORROWED OBLIGATION * KILLED FASCINATION OVERPOWERED COLLABORATION * WASTED ROTATION * MULTIPLIED MORALIZATION * SETTLED OBLIGATION * TROUBLED CONSTELLATION * REDUCED COOPERATION * TRIGGERED MANIPULATION * CONTROLLED CELEBRATION * BELOVED MYSTIFICATION CONSTRUCTED REJECTION * HAUNTED OPINION * FINANCED CAUTION * FOCUSED EVALUATION * STRUCTURED CONVERSATION * MELTED CONCENTRATION * FAKED CONFIRMATION * ABUSED CONFRONTATION * COORDINATED CAPITULATION * MASTERED MILITARIZATION * NEGLECTED VERIFICATION * CLUSTERED NARRATION * SPLITTED OPERATION * HUBBLED INFORMATION * TWISTED MANIFESTATION * TORTURED ISOLATION * FIXED MALFUNCTION * MISSED DEVOTION * COLOURED CRYSTALLIZATION

Orange-Series I / Popping on the Stove
2017
Colored foil strips, hand-stamped; MDF block; 30 x 40 cm

The text-based work Orange-Series I / Popping on the Stove features lyrics that send wildly imaginative, nonsensical statements rushing through the environment. Everything appears artificially shaped and coated in orange lacquer. Set in a typographic style reminiscent of a rap flow, we meet characters like the Hustler, the Leader, Pepper and Fever.

POPPING ON THE STOVE

ORANGE PEPPER - POPPING ON THE STOVE
POPPING ON THE STOVE

ORANGE LADIES - FLYING UP ABOVE
FLYING UP ABOVE

DRIPPING OFF THE GLASS

ORANGE TIGERS MELTING IN THE SUN
POPPING ON THE STOVE
POPPING ON THE STOVE

ORANGE FEVER RUNNING DOWN YOUR BACK
DRIPPING OFF THE GLASS
POPPING ON THE STOVE
MELTING IN THE SUN

ORANGE LEADERS RUSHING FOR THE TOP
FLYING UP ABOVE
MELTING IN THE SUN
MELTING IN THE SUN