Spiegel im Spiegel
2014
Enclosed within an aluminium frame structure and beneath a layer of dichroic film, precise monolithic shapes drift in a mirrored macrocosm. The strict minimalism and schematic nature of their geometry seems to evade elemental boundaries, presenting the viewer with multiple impressions of dimensional potentialities. Although each piece in this series is a three-dimensional object conveying a two-dimensional surface, the corporeal elements invite the viewer’s gaze to search beyond the reflection and 'into the void'.
From a frontal perspective the viewer may, at first, accept - or indeed question - the works’ reflective stimulus, but from a different viewpoint conceives to what appears to be apparitions of pure geometric forms. The purpose of the mirror - its essence - is now incidental / nonessential / defunct. The viewer is no longer interested in his or her reflection but rather with the faint tinted shapes beyond, nullifying its existential value as a mirror.
Thus, the compositions act as primary instruments for displacement. Illustrating a further theme is the denial of a visible authorial hand of the artist. By focussing on the conditions of production, the materials employed and the way the work is viewed it is plausible to examine the physicality of these works beyond the artist’s hand.
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As a side note: the series title ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’ refers to a specific piece of music (of the same name) by the composer Arvo Pärt. The subliminal composition nurtured the creation and meditative nature of this four panel series.