–

–

–

–

–

–

all images:

HAUS AM GERN, Aire de Bellelay at Bellelay Abbey, June 2015
images © we find wildness

–

It’s that time of the year again, the Bellelay Abbey is currently hosting a contemporary art installation that triggers a dialogue between the Baroque architecture of the Abbey and the pieces created especially for this unique venue.

The previous years have featured surprising and most of the time monumental works, and this year edition is no exception. The Swiss artist duo HAUS AM GERN (RUDOLF STEINER and BARBARA MEYER CESTA) has created, which seems to be at first sight, a featureless black monolith that clashes with the Baroque curves of the space and that evokes instantly the KUBRICK’s movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, 

Just like the apes in KUBRICK‘s movie, the viewer approaches to the mysterious black object and moves toward to discover its other side. Like in the movie, the visitor experiments the passage of space, if not of time: from darkness to light, from shadow to reflection thanks to a kaleidoscope of mirrors. The visitor is no more alone but multiplied by four giving the sensation to enter a virtual abstract room filled with clones. Nevertheless the bright side doesn’t give a clearer shape of some kind for something that has no shape like a monolith.

This iconic work is subject to countless interpretations, including religious, alchemical, historical, and evolutionary. To some extent, the very way in which it appears and is presented allows the viewer to project onto it all manner of ideas relating to his or her personal knowledge.

Aire de Bellelay by HAUS AM GERN is on view at Bellelay Abbey in Switzerland until September 13, 2015.

–