Reflection and Appearance, a Relation-Position Project

About

Reflection and Appearance, a Relation-Position Project
(Schein und Spiegelung, ein Relationspositionsprojekt)
positions in art, science and literature
Opening of the first round to the project on September 14, 2017.

“The whole is not more than the sum of its parts, but something different!”

The relation-position project refers to this thesis and with its corresponding theme of appearance and reflection attempts to visualise the connection between relative references and their possibilities of interpretation via its organically growing development process.

The word Schein (appearance, but also shine) alone is ambiguous, it can be conceived as glowing or aura of light, but also as deceit, imposture, ostensibly presenting something which at closer inspection turns out to be insubstantial. Illusion and deception are not only used persuasively in the animal kingdom, but also are common practice especially in our fast-paced culture of oversupply where they find easy prey.

Reflections have fascinated humankind since time immemorial. The subject matter here fans out, just to name a few facets of meaning: biopsychologically, recognition in a mirror image is interpreted as a sign of self-awareness; in physics, the mirror surface is a reflector of light; mirroring can also be conceived as a means of reflection and cognition, or as a projection of self; watching oneself in the mirror, one becomes observer and observed object at the same time; the mirror or smartphone often serves to sate the indefatigable narcissist’s thirst; looking into the mirror, one sees the things that lying behind oneself, thus making it a glimpse of the past.

In our 8th international, inter-disciplinary exhibition project we want to invite contributors from the fields of art, science and literature to expand this scope of topics within a growing process over a duration of about one year.

A literary sculpture provides the initial impulse. The poem engraved in the language sculpture’s translucent plates, its shadows and reflections allow for multiple interpretations and offer many starting points on the topic Schein und Spiegelung. This inertial impulse’s translucent quality prompts the contributors to take up position and create a new, independent work.