Joachim Fleischer, Scanning, 2009–2010
light installation

MOVING IMAGE

The light installation Scanning by Joachim Fleischer comprises only a few elements – lamps and simple wire meshes suspended in the air. However, when the installation is on and the illuminated objects rotate, something surprising happens. Their translucent shadow begins to take on a life of its own. No more a shadow, but actually a moving image, as the hanging object forms a kind of a film frame, projecting onto the wall. The projection seems more real than the almost invisible object itself.

MINIMALISM

Fleischer’s light installations captivate with discreet minimalism. We live in a world flooded with photography, television images, video and films, so it is all the more surprising how strongly this simple manipulation created by the artist affects our psyche. Perhaps it is because the moving shadows awaken in us a primal fear? For our brains and our perception this is much more real and realistic than images flashing on TV or computer screens. Although we know perfectly well that they are mere shadows, somewhere deep inside we sense a threat, and our imagination sets itself in motion.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Joachim Fleischer was born in 1960. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart in 1989. In his artistic work he focuses on light, both as a material and a subject of his works – objects, light installations, performances. The artist is particularly interested in the purest form of this medium: white light. In 2007–2011 he worked as a lecturer at the Department of Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. He is currently the artistic director and curator of the Festival of Light „Aufstiege” („Ascents”) 2016 in the cultural region of Stuttgart.

Purchased from own resources (2017)

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