In the frame of the group show ROOMS LOOK BACK, the German artist Swantje Hielscher (b. 1980) presents INSERT II: a site-specific project as well as works on paper and objects. The notion of space is an important starting point of Hielscher’s examination of language and form: in her works space is reflected as a construction of thought, a mental image and a reflection of the immediate surrounding and society. Hielscher scrutinizes existing structures and standards in relation to measurements and materials. She reconfigures them by accentuating extremes and dualities while thereby challenging the perception of the viewer. For Kunsthalle Basel the artist measured hall 3 with the aid of an A4 paper, starting at the left hand corner moving her way across the walls vertically. The A4 papers she used are turned into an object: a display case in the form of the floor plan of the space. In this piece different ways of presentation and perception of art are brought into question and the capacity of rooms to activate our memories is addressed.
Online review and video of the opening at Vernissage-TV
Insert II: Swantje Hielscher, 07.10.-26.10.2008
More infos on the exhibition ROOMS LOOK BACK
Image: Swantje Hielscher, Saal 3 der Kunsthalle Basel, Steinenberg 7,
4051 Basel, Schweiz, 2008, Installationsansicht. Photo: Serge Hasenboehler. © Kunsthalle Basel, 2008.