17/06/2023 -05/07/2023
Ben Jack Nash, Benno Blome
Pförtnerhäuschen, Alter Schlachthof –
Karlsruhe.
Conceived to be only visible from the outside, the viewer is first struck by a brutal act of vandalism on the walls of an historic 19th century building. Part German, part French – the graffiti spells the words ‘ABSTRAKTE MERDE’ in bright red paint. Inside the building, however, the letters appear as harmless, soft shadows integrated into a reconstructed reflection of the sunlight coming through
the window.
A closer look reveals that the reflection is in fact an artificial replica.In his work, Ben Jack Nash focuses on an area in which no clear distinction can be made between form and materiality. The meaning of the work is thus constituted by the undecidability that exists between these two material identities. For the artist, «this is one of the most fundamental processes that forms the basis of so much in the universe, both physical and political».
In his pavilion, Benno Blome displayed a series of drawings
from the series SPELLDRAWINGS (ZAUBERZEICHNUNGEN) The drawings oscillate between an identifiable image and pure abstract symbolism.
In this respect they are similar to the characters of Chinese ideograms or Sumerian cuneiform. The title takes into account the transformation from the concrete to abstract and accordingly makes way for ever new contexts of meaning.
Each of the drawings thus has a concrete pre-image. Just as the
transformation of the given into something spiritual takes place in
language, the world is also constantly reconstituted in the cosmos of these drawings. Shifting between image and writing, they form a network of modern hieroglyphics through which the world
can not only be described but also imagined further.
