In, um es herum und unterhalb
Una Szeemann, 2018
Kunsthalle Winterthur
Auf einem langen Schatten
Über dem See und umgekehrt
Die verschobene Verdichtung eines Schläfers
Una Szeemann is fascinated by finding visible traces of invisible phenomena. In her own words, her artistic process resembles “wandering in the landscapes of the unconscious”. The exhibition at the Kunsthalle Winterthur comprises a body of new photography, sculpture and installation, all connected by characteristics either in form or content, and merged into an imposing and grand sculpture.
In the main hall, the visitor is welcomed by a photographic diptych that adopts the latin title Welwitschia Mirabilis, and portrays a male and female specimen of a plant bearing the same name. The plant is a monotypic gymnosperm genus found in the Namib desert and consisting of only one pair of leaves that can grow to a diameter of up to three metres and reach an age of 2000 years.
The concave and convex curvatures of the plant refer to basic and universal body forms or organisms and also define the sculptural gestures in the room. The large scale work Auf einem langen Schatten (On a Long Shadow) consists of black cows’ skins dangling over a metal spine, suggesting the loss of their original function of housing bodies. The work contrasts with Über dem See und umgekehrt (Over the Lake and Inverse), consisting of fragmented casts of body parts made in acrylic resin and confidently maintaining the volume of the long-gone originals. In the small hall, the five copper plates Die verschobene Verdichtung eines Schläfers (The Displaced Compression of a Sleeper), bend from wall to floor, referring again to the body disappeared. Its presence here is visible in the form of traces left by movements of a human body in combination with the oxidation process; motion in the past has transformed into the psyche of the moment.
Oliver Kielmayer
Leather and aluminium, acrylic resin, copper, Lambda prints on Baryta paper
(Photos: Kunsthalle Winterthur, Christian Schwager, Bohdan Stehlik)
Welwitschia Mirabilis
Auf einem langen Schatten and Über dem See und umgekehrt II, III, IV & V
Auf einem langen Schatten, Über dem See und umgekehrt II, III, IV & V and Welwitschia Mirabilis
Über dem See und umgekehrt II
Über dem See und umgekehrt III & IV
Über dem See und umgekehrt II
Die verschobene Verdichtung eines Schläfers I, III, IV & V
Die verschobene Verdichtung eines Schläfers IV & V
Die verschobene Verdichtung eines Schläfers II Detail