Aqua Alta

Hardly any other substance can match water for its vitality. Its flowing, splashing, dripping motion symbolizes the perpetual change to which all things are subject. The theme of these horizonless views of large natural bodies of water is the diversity of form that is coming into being or fading away at any given moment. The photographic reproductions locate the water’s fragile formations in visible space. The preternatural luminosity of color in the studies thematizes the transparency and reflective properties of the liquid element. Like the evanescent structures of the waves, the iridescing hues express the character of a moment in time, both present and transient.

The photo series Whirl&Wake was developed in collaboration with the performer Iris de Boor by a lake in Berlin, capturing moments in which the performer touches the water’s surface or in which her body dips or dives into the watery element. The water’s reflections are echoed on a formal level in the material on which the photographs are printed: reflective foil. The photos intentionally make it impossible to tell whether the performer is emerging or sinking. The true focus is on visually capturing the moment in which the body breaks through the water’s glittering mirror, here used as a metaphor for the boundary between different worlds: above and below, day and night.

The installations in lightboxes, for video and environment, are especially made for the architectural conditions. The artwork is related to space an light, it is an functional and esthetic extension. Photography and projected images are conceptually made for the individual location. Blend, photo on metal, 15qm, floating as a metallic facade at the architecture  of the Emirates Palace at Art Abu Dhabi, 2009, is made of three pieces. The double-sided lightbox whirl/spring marks are perceived as “windows in space”, corresponding with the glass architectural elements. The thematic motifs are liquidity, reflections in water and abstract urban facades.

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