Georgette Maag
SCHIMMER
November 11, 2011 – December 24, 2011
As if by magic, ‘Schimmer’ conjures up an image of something that was never actually seen in a medieval town’s ‘Ehegraben’ or sewage depository: clean water, a silently flowing brook with a shimmering surface. In the first three video loops we see maple leaves float down a body of water. The sub-surface shadow of each leaf is visible gliding over other leaves, which have already descended to the bed of the brook. The camera is used here to capture long, uneventful moments or filmic still lives. Light reflecting off a watery surface illuminates the alleyway leading into the courtyard. The confrontation of natural phenomena has been given impressionistic immediacy in Maag’s ‘Shimmer’ installation. The representation of light and atmospheric condition appears to be her primary objective. The results are a far cry from the camera’s fundamental function as a recording apparatus, and are characterised by appearing to be incidental image sections (Paysage, 2001, video, Kunstraum Kreuzlingen).
Contrary to the image and information overspill of the current media age, Maag focuses on a reduced yet highly intensive view of the world. The everyday is transformed into the mystical, where nature appears, at least at first glance, to be excessively idyllic (Oenothera biennis, 2011, video installation at Maison Turberg, Porrentruy). Just as sentimentalism was considered supplementary to pure rationalism during the enlightenment, ‘Schimmer’ is also characterised by its contemplative qualities and its proximity to nature. In opposition to her forerunners, Maag’s critical views of the present-day enable her to resist romanticised idealism. In her works she fills apparently empty living spaces with human players and analyses their actions (Chanson de Geste, 2008, video, Projektraum Tellstrasse 20, Zurich). This leads to a contemplative and repetitive observation of everyday procedures, which stimulate subjective experiences, feelings and deliberations.
With inconspicuous virtuosity, Maag’s work spans the spectrum from projected reflection to cerebral reflection, thereby closing the circle between the impressionism of light and echo.
Contrary to the image and information overspill of the current media age, Maag focuses on a reduced yet highly intensive view of the world. The everyday is transformed into the mystical, where nature appears, at least at first glance, to be excessively idyllic (Oenothera biennis, 2011, video installation at Maison Turberg, Porrentruy). Just as sentimentalism was considered supplementary to pure rationalism during the enlightenment, ‘Schimmer’ is also characterised by its contemplative qualities and its proximity to nature. In opposition to her forerunners, Maag’s critical views of the present-day enable her to resist romanticised idealism. In her works she fills apparently empty living spaces with human players and analyses their actions (Chanson de Geste, 2008, video, Projektraum Tellstrasse 20, Zurich). This leads to a contemplative and repetitive observation of everyday procedures, which stimulate subjective experiences, feelings and deliberations.
With inconspicuous virtuosity, Maag’s work spans the spectrum from projected reflection to cerebral reflection, thereby closing the circle between the impressionism of light and echo.
