Nils Eichberg
dal 21/2/2008 al 28/3/2008
Segnalato da
21/2/2008
Nils Eichberg
Wendt+Friedmann Galerie, Berlin
Colours of the Past. The works on show deal with imagery from the past: in this case, diagrams and visual aids from a training book for car mechanics from 1972 are used. The overall cycle explores the extent to which colours not only stand for the values and feeling of a given period, but also actually recreate the feel of the period in question.
“A colour photograph distills the colours of its subject matter in the fraction of
a second it takes for the shutter to open and close. These same colours are of
course present in the multitude of images all around us, but at the same time each
colour is also part of the surface of the captured image; each colour is a mere
property of the image – a simple medium conveying information.”
However, the images currently on show don’t fully adhere to this thesis, even though
they don’t completely repudiate it. Here, the colours become visible in their own
right, without necessarily concealing their origin.
The kick for the observer is
that he or she perceives both colour and motif simultaneously.The vertical stripes
of colour and, at right angles to these, what appears to be a horizon generate a
strong sense of space, and focus our gaze towards the centre of the image, and it is
along this line that motif and colour intersect. At the moment of this realisation,
the observer’s gaze suddenly penetrates what was previously an abstract image, and
the simple, sensory reaction to the colours suddenly gives way to the feeling
associated with the motif – a feeling archived in the observer’s brain. The fact
that the original image has been treated and distorted serves to artificially
prolong this process.
The series of works on show here is the second series in the
“Colours of the Past” image cycle. All four of the series in this cycle deal with
imagery from the past: in this case, diagrams and visual aids from a training book
for car mechanics from 1972 are used. The overall cycle explores the extent to which
colours not only stand for the values and feeling of a given period, but also
actually recreate the feel of the period in question. A certain nostalgia is at the
core of this approach.
Nils Eichberg Berlin / Johannesburg 2008“His images are as
colourful as his ties!”Helga, Hamburg 2007 Nils Eichberg lives and works as a town
planner and designer (including set design) in Johannesburg, South Africa
opening february 22, 2008
Wendt+Friedmann Galerie
Zehdenicker Str. 13 - Berlin
free admission