ART CITIES: Copenhagen-Carsten Nicolai
Α leading figure in the art world of Berlin in the ‘90s, Carsten Nicolai is renowned for his installations and performances, which explore the links and interactions between vision, sound, architecture, science and technology. Adopting a strict approach inspired by scientific methods, his artistic research into the mechanisms of representation and into the means and limits of visual and audio perception are both consistent and poetic.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Copenhagen Contemporary Archive
Carsten Nicolai’s works enter into the viewer’s physical sphere and interact with the architectural spaces they are created for, bringing into play the concepts of space and time. His Light and Audio Installation “unidisplay”, is on show at Copenhagen Contemporary, the work is a powerful experience both visually and physically. The work consists of a long wall on which changing light patterns are projected and are reflected in mirrors on both sides of the projection to make up an endless universe. The undulating patterns affect our eyes with among other things optical illusions, flickering and after-images. At the same time the various visual impressions are grounded by a soundtrack that is propagated through the body via speakers placed beneath a long bench on which the viewer can sit in the installation, “unidisplay” is about the way we sense the surrounding world, and how our surroundings in turn affect us, it epitomises the most important themes that run through Nicolai’s work, including the ability to give visual form to sound, the translation of minimal aesthetics into a monotonal use of colour (variations on black and white) and of sound, and a tendency towards abstraction and towards the infinite.
Info: Copenhagen Contemporary, Trangravsvej 10-14, Copenhagen, Duration: 1/7-3/10/16, Days &Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-21:00, http://cphco.org
