Ivana Franke › Retreat into Darkness. Towards a Phenomenology of the Unknown

Installation view: Schering Foundation Project Space, Berlin, 2017. Video by Mario Furcic.

Retreat into Darkness. Towards a Phenomenology of the Unknown

Commissioned and supported by the Ernst Schering Foundation.

2017. Four aluminum constructions with monofilament nets, three light bulbs, four control units.
Diameter 100 x 86 cm, 120 x 113 cm, 150 x 129 cm, 300 x 270 cm.

The installation takes us into a visual and bodily experience able to break our preconceived idea of reality, lending it other dimensions that are decidedly fictive, imaginary, and cosmic. Reflected light appears as if floating on air and emerging constellations of “objects”. Initially, these stand still, as if frozen. When the visitor begins to walk around, these objects move in unexpected directions. These curious constellations seem to extend deep into the space, only to come back towards us in a counter-intuitive motion.

Like standing before twinkling fireflies, the viewer is invited to glimpse the “unknown” moving objects revealed in the dark. Perceived light translates into experiences that challenge our perception and imagination, suggesting spatial architectures that cannot be identified through the ones we already know. Creating “epistemological ruptures”, those experiences give us the capacity to imagine and challenge existing common modes of knowledge and to create room for different possible futures.

Exhibition views: Schering Foundation Project Space, Berlin. Photo Roman Maerz, ©Schering Stiftung / Ivana Franke, ©Ivana Franke Studio.

Over exposed images

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