wanderlust

Wedged Into A Gallery

Walking into Galerie Loris for “The Surface of Displacement” exhibition by the artistic duo Benten Clay, I am immediately struck by the sheer scale and angle of the massive, slab like object in front of me, which is quite literally wedged into the gallery space, invading the whole room. The artwork manages to fit the gallery space perfectly, and yet, it is not quite clear how it could have made it through the door. 

Designed to invite viewers to experience a feeling of displacement, the piece “The Surface of Displacement” by artistic duo Vera Hofmann and Sabine Schründer (aka Benten Clay) is part of a larger project entitled “Age of an End,” which explores the limitation of natural resources in our greedy contemporary world. 

The Downfall of Humanity

Specifically designed and produced to be exhibited in the gallery, the piece is based on official aerial photographs of major Icelandic construction the Kárahnjúkar dam, which was a project for energy production in 2006. In the photographs once vivid blue glacier rivers are now melted monochrome surfaces, muddy and polluted at the hands of humanity. The massive grey slab nestled amongst the white gallery walls reflects this clearly, forcing the viewer to again re-evaluate the world that we live in. 

Next door in the Rahmensalon there is also a video by Benten Clay entitled “Flying Falls,” which is a series of video sequences filmed in Iceland during the winter of 2012 depicting the land at its purest, blankets of snow engulfing the landscape undisturbed. 

The exhibition runs until October 7th and there are also a further two sites displaying work by the two artists – Freies Museum houses photography/video/object installation “100.000” and Plattenplast “The Promise” a video/photography piece. 

  • Galerie Loris “The Surface of Displacement” September 8th 2012- October 6th 2012: Wednesday – Friday 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. | Saturday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m

Article written by Marie J. Burrows

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