YOUNG MASTERS EXHIBITION

Bodies inside each other – Jazmin Rojas Forero

A plant grows in the mountains of Colombia that absorbs moisture from the fog through its leaves and releases it again through its roots. “Bodies inside each other” is an art installation that explores the plant’s relationship with its environment. The illuminated sculpture is inspired by the inside of the plant and transforms ice into drops of water. Jazmin Rojas Forero interweaves the fictional and the real, science, fantasy and dreams. Her aim is not only to create sensual and convincing poetic gestures, the Colombian artist is also pursuing a dream with her art that she shares with many other contemporary artists: The fragile relationship between humans and the environment – nature, animals, everything non-human – is to be cast in a new light, thereby being viewed, reflected upon and restored.

Being hoodwinked – Lena Höll and Robert Anagnostopoulos

What lies behind the light? In Lena Höll’s and Robert Anagnostopoulos’ work, it is a world of illusions and fantasies, a world dedicated entirely to dreams. The installation “Hinters Licht führen” explores these fleeting yet powerful experiences that the human subconscious undergoes both at night and during the day. Beams of light, which are directed, reflected and multiplied with the help of mirrors, transform the room into a dreamlike landscape through which the light floats and even dances. The purist structures – clear zones of light in the midst of darkness – create a particularly contemplative atmosphere precisely because of their simplicity. Visitors find themselves in a place of tranquillity that is nevertheless full of secrets. If you entrust yourself to the light and allow it to guide you, every reflection opens up a new dimension, an idea or a thought, possibly even a new dream. Lena Höll and Robert Anagnostopoulos are studying architecture at the Institute for Space and Design at Graz University of Technology. Their interests include the interaction of light and space, especially the play of reflections.

Rain of Change – Marith Buma, Melvin Dotinga, Daniël Hellendoorn, Iris Stroeve, Lennart Wenzig and Martijn Pekel (“Still loading …”) from FH NHL Stenden in Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Every day, we humans are confronted with a variety of influences that also change our own views. As a result, the world becomes a dynamic landscape that we look at from different perspectives. The media installation “Rain of Change” deals with these different perspectives: two figures wander through a confusing world to which they react in completely different ways due to their attitudes to life. While one can only recognize the negative in their experiences, the other manages to discover the beauty of this world in many small things. The message: it is above all your own positive view that can brighten up your surroundings and improve situations. Under the direction of project manager Marith Buma, students of the “Art’n Sound” course at the Dutch University of Applied Sciences NHL Stenden produced a short film accompanied by fluttering film and light effects. In “Rain of Change”, video, projection and other light sources merge into a sensual and impressive installation, which has already been shown at the LUNA Festival in Leeuwarden.

Verduinen (“Becoming a dune”) – Maria Stuut

It was a beachcomber who pointed out the changing landscape on the island of Ameland to Maria Stuut. While the sand was disappearing on one side, it was increasing on the other. With her video installation “Verduinen”, the artist explores this shifting sand in her very own way: She transforms herself into a dune – she “verduins”. “People try to influence the movement of the sand, but they don’t succeed. That’s why I wanted to become a dune myself and found out: I too was trying to manipulate the sand,” says Maria Stuut about her experience. “Verduinen” is one of those artistic projects that deal intensively with the level of the more-than-human. People are not only in a relationship with other people, but also inevitably with everything non-human that surrounds them. This results in a dimension that allows people to step out of their humanity. In Maria Stuut’s installation, viewers immerse themselves in this dimension as if in a dream and experience what many may dream of: leaving the human body and becoming part of a completely different, non-human environment.

Instructions for trying to become a dune yourself
Feel the desire to become a dune.
Find a beach or a desert.
Find a windy day.
Lie still for a long time. It’s best if you only think about the sand, but that’s hard. You could sing songs in your head. This makes it less painful. You could bring someone with you to throw sand into the wind. This speeds up the slowness.
Give up, but not too quickly.
Try to become a dune.

This could be the answer, this may be a nightmare – Jakob Kolb

Sculptural objects meet light and sound. Each medium explores the subconscious in its own way, and in their symbiosis they translate this exploration into a real form. This in turn creates a dream-like environment: poignant and yet not quite tangible, bright and clear, almost ethereal. With his installation “This could be the answer, this may be a nightmare”, Jakob Kolb addresses his audience on several sensory levels – always with the aim of revealing hidden layers of perception and consciousness. The sculptures “Vessels”, a significant part of the work, are made of cold, inorganic materials. However, their rigid form captures vivid memories: Things thought, felt, experienced find their place here. The objects are complemented by a staging of light and sound. LED modules play the scenery with videos – film material that was recorded and edited by the artist himself. The accompanying sound, also by Jakob Kolb, has a minimalist feel, but intertwines with the visual and physical elements, reinforcing the dreamlike character of the work. Jakob Kolb is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna with a Master’s degree in Expanded Pictorial Space. The LED modules for this project were built in collaboration with electrical engineer Thomas Baumhartner.

Sonolux – Speculative Future
Mahtab Jafarzadeh Miandehi, Hannah Albrecht, Bensu Kaya, Francisco Sylla, David Laßlberger

A collective consisting of five students of Sound and Interaction Design at the FH Joanneum and the University of Art and Design Graz has set itself the task of exploring soundscapes in Graz’s urban space and deriving future scenarios, both dystopian and utopian in nature, from them. The aim is to draw attention to both acoustic ecology and the design of sound in public and private spaces. Subtle visual elements complement sonic impressions. This project aims to illustrate how urban development can influence natural soundscapes.

Schlossberg tunnel

Attention! The Schlossbergstollen and therefore also the Dom im Berg are only accessible in a one-way system, starting from Schlossbergplatz.

This installation was realized with the kind support of AVL .