OBSERVER

TEXT: SPACE EXPANSION, JULIAN LAUTENBACH

ON THE EDGE OF THE HISTORIC CITY CENTRE, BETWEEN THE EPONYMOUS HERZOG ANTON ULRICH MUSEUM AND THE STATE THEATRE WITH ITS MONUMENTAL BUILDINGS, LIES BRAUNSCHWEIG'S MUSEUMPARK. ITS EASTERN SIDE IS SURROUNDED BY THE RIVER OKER, WHICH FLOWS HERE IN AN ARTIFICIAL DITCH. THE NARROW WATERCOURSE ONCE RAN ALONGSIDE THE BAROQUE FORTIFICATIONS AND MARKED THE CITY BOUNDARY. AN ELEVATION IN THE PARK IS THE RELIC OF A BULWARK OF THIS LONG SINCE DEMOLISHED RAMPART, WHICH WAS INTENDED TO PROTECT THE CITY AGAINST ENEMY INVASION. ALTHOUGH THE PAST OF THE GREEN SPACE IS ONLY SUBTLY RECOGNISABLE, CHRISTIAN HOLL'S CHOICE OF LOCATION FOR HIS INSTALLATION OBSERVER SEEMS TO TIE IN WITH THE NARRATIVE OF A BORDER AREA. IN THE AREA BETWEEN THE HILL AND THE OKER, HE HAS CREATED A DRAMATIC SETTING WITH WHICH HE IMPRESSIVELY ADDRESSES THE INTERPLAY OF INSIDE AND OUTSIDE, OF PROTECTION AND EXPOSURE.
THE ENTIRE AREA IS BATHED IN RED LIGHT, CREATING AN ALMOST DYSTOPIAN ATMOSPHERE. SPREAD AROUND THE SMALL SLOPE ARE THREE GREY, INDUSTRIAL-LOOKING OBJECTS. THEY ARE OF DIFFERENT SIZES BUT RESEMBLE EACH OTHER IN SHAPE AND LOOK LIKE ELEMENTS OF A TECHNICAL COMPLEX WHOSE FUNCTION IS NOT APPARENT. SHELTER, THE MOST OPEN OF THE CONSTRUCTIONS, IS REMINISCENT OF A RETRO-FUTURISTIC SHELTER IN ITS MINIMALIST DESIGN. A FEW METRES AWAY ARE THE MODULES CAPSULE AND CONTAINER. THEY ARE LARGER, THEIR LONG SIDES ARE CLOSED AND HAVE DOOR OR WINDOW-LIKE RECESSES. UP CLOSE, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE STRUCTURES ARE MADE OF WOOD. A LOOK INSIDE ALSO REVEALS RIBS - A TYPICAL FEATURE OF SHIPBUILDING - WHICH REINFORCE THE IMPRESSION OF ENCOUNTERING THE SCATTERED PARTS OF A SPACESHIP. HOWEVER, DESPITE THE OMINOUS RED LIGHTING, THE INSTALLATION DOES NOT SEEM TO FULLY FOLLOW THE NARRATIVE OF AN EMERGENCY-LANDED FLYING OBJECT. THE THREE SCULPTURAL ELEMENTS ARE INTACT AND DO NOT GIVE THE IMPRESSION OF A TRAGIC ACCIDENT. INSTEAD, THEY APPEAR EMBEDDED IN THEIR SURROUNDINGS LIKE A RESEARCH STATION WHOSE ARCHITECTURE IS REMINISCENT OF BRUTALIST-INSPIRED SCIENCE FICTION FILM SETS.
THE TWO LARGER ELEMENTS OFFER THE POSSIBILITY OF SITTING IN THEM AND WITHDRAWING FROM THE LIGHT FOR A WHILE. BY OBSERVING FROM THE SAFETY OF THE INTERIOR, THE MEANING OF OBSERVER SHIFTS MORE STRONGLY TOWARDS THE VERY GESTURE FROM WHICH THE WORK TAKES ITS TITLE. THE PARK BECOMES AN EXPLORABLE OUTSIDE WORLD, WHOSE SIGNAL-COLOURED ALIENATION LOSES ITS DANGER IN THE PROTECTION OF THE MODULES. INSTEAD, THE RED COLOUR OF THE LIGHTING CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AS A DELIBERATELY RESTRAINED INTERVENTION IN NATURE. IN THE DARK, THIS RANGE OF THE LIGHT SPECTRUM IS NOT ONLY GENTLE ON THE HUMAN EYE, BUT ALSO ON A LARGE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT CAN BARELY PERCEIVE RED LIGHT. AT THE SAME TIME, DUE TO ITS WAVELENGTH, IT HARDLY CONTRIBUTES TO LIGHT POLLUTION AS IT IS SCATTERED LESS IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE VIEW FROM THE CONSTRUCTIONS IS ALSO A GENTLE EXPERIENCE OF THE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS, IN WHICH THE CONCEPT OF PROTECTION IS DOUBLED: THE STRUCTURES OFFER REFUGE AND AT THE SAME TIME PROTECT THE PARK'S FAUNA FROM BEING DISTURBED BY THE VERY PEOPLE SEEKING THIS REFUGE. UNLIKE THE SURROUNDING URBAN SPACE, THERE ARE NO STREETLIGHTS HERE. THE DARKNESS RESTORES AN INACCESSIBILITY TO THE PARK THAT THE RED LIGHT DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO NEUTRALISE.
AGAINST THIS BACKDROP, THE ARCHITECTURES CREATE A KIND OF IMMERSIVE IDENTITY THAT CAN BE EXPANDED WITH A LITTLE IMAGINATION: NO DOMINANT SPACE TRAVELLERS ARE PAVING THE WAY TO COLONISE NEW WORLDS HERE. INSTEAD, THIS IS A PLACE FOR THE CAREFUL EXPLORATION OF AN URBAN INTERZONE AND THE POTENTIAL TO HARMONISE ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE, AT LEAST FOR A MOMENT. SUCH A UTOPIA WOULD BE IN THE TRADITION OF SCI-FI CLASSICS SUCH AS STANISLAW LEM'S SOLARIS, IN WHICH A SPACE STATION IS THE STARTING POINT FOR THE PLOT. IN THE COURSE OF THE NOVEL, THE SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION OF AN ALIEN PLANET QUICKLY RAISES FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS, IDENTITY AND THE LIMITS OF THE HUMAN MIND. OBSERVER IS PERHAPS AN ECHO OF THIS NARRATIVE FORM, IN WHICH KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN INTERIOR IS UNCOVERED THROUGH THE INVESTIGATION OF THE OUTER WORLD. THE MODE OF OBSERVATION ALWAYS HAS SOMETHING REFLECTIVE ABOUT IT AND PRESUPPOSES AN UNDERSTANDING OF ONE'S OWN POSITION. HOLL'S WORK LAYS THE TRACKS FOR SUCH A NARRATIVE, BUT DOES NOT DEMAND IT. THE ROLES ARE NOT PRE-FORMULATED AND ASSIGNED. HOWEVER, WITH HIS INTERVENTION IN THE MUSEUM PARK, HE PREPARES A SETTING THAT OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDEPENDENT NAVIGATION BETWEEN THE FAMILIAR AND THE UNFAMILIAR. THIS PERHAPS BRINGS US FULL CIRCLE TO THE QUALITY OF THE BORDER, WHICH CAN CONVEY BOTH SECURITY AND ISOLATION - DEPENDING ON ONE'S OWN POINT OF VIEW.