Coming down the stairs to its small, dimmed underground space, a suspended gate-like sound installation invited me in. As I was walking through the installation –a new work by the Swedish composer and sound artist Anders Ehlin- a loud breathing noise activated my senses, engulfed me into a void, one that was a dark, spiral infinite space where the only familiar thing was the sound, which reverberated back and forth, not knowing what was coming or going.
The exhibition Horror Vacui consisted of an artist collaboration between Anders Ehlin and Lucas Gutierrez from Argentina. Gutierrez’s work consisted of a video installation and two prints which depicted the process of him 3D scanning the exhibition space. Ehlin, on the other hand, calculated the digital axis points from Gutierrez’s scans of the space and sonified them by altering the sound frequency- which was presented in the sound installation. However, it was rather challenging for the viewer to connect the two works without a hint of the collaborative effort.
It was when I turned to the Russian artist Protey Temen’s altar-like installation -painted in vantage black- that I felt that religion was perhaps the universe and as humans, we all strived for the never-ending search for the self, the unknown, and life.
Aristotle’s theory of Horror Vacui -the idea that a void cannot exist in nature- is perhaps right in the physical sense as matters collide and particles merge. But a ‘mental void’ of a human being exists when one clears his thoughts and enters a complete emptiness. The musical performance by Augustin Maurs’ - by repeating a single A Flat with a cello- at the vernissage led me into a void as if the sound was calling me into the unknown, a space of emptiness, just like Ehlin’s sound installation.
My friend and I discussing Temen's work.
Opening event: August Maurs and friend paying hommage to Scelsi's A-flat... Image and video courtesy: Lucas Guttierez and Aperto Raum #ApertoRaum #AndersEhlin #ProteyTemen #LucasGuttierez #review #exhibition #aristotle #horrorvacui #void #emptiess #AugustMaurs #Scelsi #aflat #vernissage #berlinartscene #berlinart #byhenrietta
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