A monumental neon sculpture installation and adjoining light and sound installation set in two repurposed former WW2 bunkers on the Atlantic coast of Denmark. Presenting the artworks Elements VII and Cubiculum Red + Blue by Anne Katrine Senstad with spatial sound by acclaimed composer JG Thirlwell, 2023
POIESIS by Anne Katrine Senstad presents a meditation on the transformative power of light, sound, and color. The site-specific multi-sensory installations created for Kunsthal Regelbau 411’s set of repurposed WWII bunker structures, a former ammunition bunker and the central Commando bunker situated on the North Atlantic coast of Denmark, delve deeply into the impact of artistic intervention on the experience of place. Vibrant colors and sonic luminosity create a dialogue between the charged, entropic environment and the visceral qualities of art.
The video installation Cubiculum Red + Blue, focuses on dualities between the enclosed, submerged spatial properties of the bunker and the spectator’s interior and cognitive landscape. The hypnotic, seemingly monochromatic projections reflected in pools of water evoke a subtle connection to ancient cubiculums and the idea of rest at the threshold of life and death, consciousness, and liberation. An enveloping spatial sound composition by acclaimed composer JG Thirlwell creates floating spatial sensations of sonic waves between infinite vastness and molecular particles, harnessing the emotive. Cubiculum Red + Blue invites the audience to contemplate the balance between what is enclosed and what is released within these chambers.
Elements VII, the seventh iteration in Anne Katrine Senstad’s series of spatial neon sculpture installations, transports the visitor through a commanding sensorial world of light, color and sound. The labyrinthian Commando bunker becomes a prismatic universe defined by four monochromatic chambers (Pink, Green, Blue, Yellow), where luminous slender columns, as a sculptural lattice, connect canonical form as representation with transmutational currents of technology, the perceptual and the expansive. Each of the four chambers are enveloped by a continuous sublime neon horizon gently slicing through traces of time, anchoring an ontological transformation of place, where our familiar boundaries dissolve as radiant neon colors expand into uncharted realms. Throughout POIESIS we encounter a process that encompasses the sensory, corporeal, affective, and experiential aspects of space suggesting regeneration in times of change.
Supported by Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Arts Council Norway Governmental Grants for Artists, Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond, Fritt Ord, The Royal Norwegian Embassy Copenhagen, Soundartlab Struer.
Curated by Kunsthal Regelbau 411 Artistic Director Simon Thykjær. Exhibition period: 11 February – 21 May 2023.
Kunsthal Regelbau 411 is an art center situated in two former WWII bunkers. The program focuses on exhibiting international sound, light and video art. Regelbau 411 creates exhibitions opposing the idea of art as isolated works contemplated in the clean white cube or neutral spaces. Set between concrete walls, rust, salt and calcium we invite the public to experience art in an uncommon and informal setting, bringing visitors into the labyrinthine universe of the bunkers.
Photography by Anne Katrine Senstad, Mikkel Kaldal, Archive Culture New York
Copyright @AKSstudioNewYork2024 and @annekatrinesenstad
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