Obsession with Death

Materials, size, year of production: wood, paper, plaster, 160 x 80 x 120 cm, November 2023

Description:
For this installation I took a mold of my body and created a three-dimensional piece of paper. A supporting branch was tied together, similar to a tree, and the surface was plastered with white plaster.
Explanations about the work:
The installation and its title allow for various possible interpretations. On the one hand, visualized in it, we feel an obsession with death, also with regard to the idea of eternal life. On the other hand, between two phases of life or when making vital decisions, we are faced with fundamental changes through which the “old” self, which is still rooted in the present or past, seems to dissolve. For most of us, it is difficult to accept that we will die at some point. When we are stressed, we become aware of the speed with which the days pass and, especially in existential crises, we recognize the fragility of life. The human-looking figure, which has grown from a branch and is rooted to the earth, seems to break out of its immobility. What looks like a crust on their skin is the hard armor of winter. It lasts a long time until it ends with the arrival of spring. When do the flowers bloom? Will he still be able to welcome spring? His longing, his impatience and his striving are shown through his body, which has shattered into individual parts. At the same time he is frozen by fear and his inner conflict. He keeps trying to get away from the point where he stands and is rooted and always stops. He does not accept death and wants to see the spring landscape. The more he tries to get away and fulfill his wish, the more he loses himself. Is he in a hurry to die? Will he accept death if his wish comes true? The obsession narrows his horizons. The world is wide, but his world only consists of the area surrounding this tree. Obsession is repetition. He can’t leave here and is dissatisfied with the current situation. No matter how hard he tries to escape, he always returns to the same place. He has no choice but to repeat this, even if there is no solution. Having a place means being alive. To lose your place is to die. Liberation from attachment means liberation from place. He is stuck in the cycle of repetition, but he is only part of a cycle. His body is borrowed. His paper body will eventually become something else. Is his desire for warmth and water a desire for death to accelerate this cycle? Is he obsessed with death? Everyone cries when they are born. Will he be able to cry for joy and purify himself when the end comes?

Positioning the work in the exhibition context:
Due to its three-dimensionality and impact in space, it is important to me that the work is free-standing and walkable so that viewers can explore the details themselves and feel the story behind it.