Installation in einem
Wasserbecken, 1997
Graduation exhibition Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee, Berlin, Germany;
Installation in a water basin.
The flow of water, 1997:
Italian marble, three elements;
55cm x 52cm x 35cm; 53cm x 45cm x 42cm; 70cm x 39cm x 50cm
The colour of water, 1997:
bronze partially with light-blue patina
9 elements: 3x2, 1x3; 2x 37cm x 26cm x 12cm; 2x 34cm x 26cm x 14cm; 2x 22cm in diam. x 21cm; 3x 40cm in diam. x 14cm
This exhibition was planned and realized for a location on the campus of the art academy - an unused outdoor swimming-pool.
"The flow of water" was installed in the shallow part of the empty pool that dropped down in a deep angle towards the deeper area. The piece consisted of 3 marble elements, referencing the shape of pebble stones, yet they were upscaled to a height of 55cm up to 70cm. The objects played with an imaginary water level through a difference in the surface treatment. The indicated level of the three objects did not match each other or the angle of the floor, so that they obviously talked about the relocation of material.
Walking down towards the deep end of the pool, the viewer would slowly submerge - not being able to look over the rim of the pool - once he or she was at the level of the piece "The colour of water". This piece consisted of 9 bronze elements in various sizes between 22cm and 40cm in diameter. The bronze pieces played as well with an imaginary water level that was indicated by a light-blue patina on their top half, which matched the colour of the pool. The indicated level was approximately ankle-high and corresponded to a level that naturally appeared in the pool by the weathering of the light-blue paint through leaves and debris that gathered on the ground. The colour of the exposed concrete on the ground was a brown bronze colour, sprinkled with a bluish glaze - and thus correlated with the play of colour, elements, objects and reflection that was initiated in various layers by the poetic qualities of the piece.
A swimming-pool is man-made. It is a place of recreation, for relaxation, for pleasure, for desire. Painted or tiled in sky-blue it stands for the pleasure of experiencing one's own body in the world. My objects refer to the absent element water. Through their specific shape and material they open up for a dive into the act of art.
The flow of water
Water is a natural force. Power through movement and continuity. Giving form through flow. Three forms are made. During the encounter in an artificial space, they become containers for memory, open up a world of sensually palpable consciousness. My objects play with an imaginary waterline, refer to the redistribution of material.
The colour of water
Water is blue: sky-blue, light-blue, ocean-blue, turquoise-blue, sea-blue, deep-blue, transparent, blue as the sky. Water is part of a large entity, is mirror surface to the sky, is bathed in reflection of light. Color is reflection of light, a material quality. My objects reflect and define a level, ankle-deep. They are produced of bronze. They are made. They mirror - the ground we walk on, and they reflect - sky and water.
