ART CITIES:London-Alicja Kwade

What is reality? What is perception? What is social consent? These are the key issues the works of Alicja Kwade are concerned with. In exploring these issues, the artist keeps returning to scientific, philosophical and even economical phenomena such as doubling, deformation, time, or gravitation. Moreover, she finds graphic solutions and precise pictures for these subjects in her installations, sculptures, video works, and photographs.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Whitechapel Gallery Archive

In “Medium Median” Alicja Kwade’s new Installtion at the Whitechapel Gallery in London bronze casts of giant vertebrae stand at either side of the gallery accompanying a projection depicting a slowly rotating, biomorphic form. The film is inspired by NASA data of extrasolar meteors, referencing the cataclysmic event believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. At the centre of the work and gallery, a large mobile of 24 electronic star maps is suspended from the gallery ceiling, slowly rotating in concentric circles, visualising astronomical data that demonstrates the earth’s position in the known galaxy. Alicja Kwade’s sculptures often defy the conventional understanding of time and space: concrete columns melt in the sun, bicycles bend around themselves and everyday objects seem to take on a life of their own. From manipulating the mechanical workings of a clock, to creating liquid pools of mirrored glass, Kwade transforms common materials into extraordinary artworks that challenge our perceptions. Her diverse sculptures are inspired by the intangible ways we try to make sense of the modern world, from theories of astrophysics to stock market analysis.

Info: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, Duration: 28/9/16-28//17, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:00-21:00, www.whitechapelgallery.org